Pontiac, Illinois: Planes to ‘buzz square’ Saturday

Pontiac, Ill. — Antique airplanes will “buzz the square”“ Saturday as part of the city of Pontiac's 175th birthday celebration this weekend. The city of Pontiac and Pontiac-Oakland Automobile Museum will be hosting events devoted to the history of transportation prior to World War II. Cars, bicycles, motorcycles, trucks, trains, and planes of the past will be a part of the occasion. 

“I think it’s going to be interesting,” said Tim Dye, curator of the new Pontiac-Oakland Automobile Museum and Resource Center and organizer of the Pre-War Festival. “We go to a lot of car shows, and I think sometimes, car people just get bored with the standard sit there, people judge your car and you get a trophy. I think vintage car owners will be more inclined to participate because there are things to do other than bring a car and sit. ”

Dye and his wife attended a similar event in Greenfield Village at the Henry Ford museum. That event was called the Old Car Festival, so Dye said when he brought the idea back to Pontiac, he wanted to tweak things a bit and include anything from 1942 and earlier.

“Of course we will have cars,” said Dye. “But we are also going to have some of those big-wheeled bicycles, which always draw a lot of attention and we have invited some motorcycles. We just feel like with the beautiful 1800s courthouse as a backdrop, this would be a unique setting to have a nice event. We do have some antique airplanes that are going to do a flyover and then we are going to have a barbershop quartet in the afternoon that will be strolling around the courthouse. It adds atmosphere to the people who will be dressing in period clothing. So, I think it will be very interesting.”

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