ATHS National Convention Starts Today
The American Truck Historical Society kicks off its national convention on Thursday, May 25, in Des Moines, Iowa. The four-day event features historical tours of various Iowa attractions, truck cruises and of course, hundreds of vintage trucks shown by enthusiasts.
“There will be more vintage trucks onsite here than have ever been assembled in one place in world history,” said Jim Poage, executive director of the American Truck Historical Society, while speaking to the Greater Des Moines Convention and Visitors Bureau.
“When we say ‘trucks,’ we are talking about early 1900s high wheelers, to large, vintage, 18-wheeler type trucks.” said Poage. “We will have some of the first trucks ever produced in the world and a few that just came off the assembly line a few days before.”
The annual event changes venue each year. This year it’s being held May 25-28 at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines. Poage estimates more than 1,000 vintage trucks will participate in the event, and there will be more than 100 different vendors.
The show will be open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The vendor area will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day of the show. The convention concludes on Sunday with the annual truck cruise to the Iowa 80 Truckstop in Walcott, Iowa.
The event features tours of various historical venues around Iowa such as a tour of the Winterset Covered Bridges (yes, the Bridges of Madison County bridges) and John Wayne Birthplace and Museum.
It’s an all-ages event with an interactive children’s area, and there is a state-of-the-art simulator where the kids can drive a car or truck. Golf carts are available to rent for people to use to tour the grounds.
Cost at the gate is $10 per person who is not registering a truck. Children 15 and under are free when accompanying a paid adult. On-site parking is free, and shuttles from the show to the parking lot are available.
