By Brenda Erdahl
There are a lot of unique items on display at the Gear-Head Get Together, from collectables and hotrods to tricked out lawnmowers and hand-built motorcycles, but nothing quite compares to Bob Ahonen’s 38-foot long, bright red fire truck, especially when he hoists the 100 foot ladder with the American flag attached that waves boldly over the festivities.
Ahonen has been a car enthusiast for a long time, ever since he bought his grandfather’s 1957 Buick Century back when he was just a college kid in the 1960s. He figures he has a dozen-plus vehicles on his and wife Adele Leary’s 80 acres of land just east of Annandale, but the king of his collection is the fire truck.
“It commands the most attention,” he said.
Purchased in 2018 from a fire department in Kent, Washington on an online auction, it never fails to draw a crowd to the southeast corner of the Community Park where Ahonen has displayed it every year at Gear-Head since he and his wife first drove it home.
“My wife saw it and wanted it. I said, honey, that’s in Washington,” Ahonen recalled.
With the help of their computer savvy son, Joe Kincaid, the couple made a bid and came out on top.
“Her bottom dollar was 10 grand, we paid eight and drove it home,” Ahonen said.
Since then, many children have sat behind its big steering wheel and walked through its interior at Gear-Head and other shows Ahonen has taken it to.