Local business logs in 88 years of fun at the fair this year
Brad Myers and Paul Myers represent the fourth generation to run the Canfield business and bring it to the fair. They will have the usual spot at Bishop and Beaver roads in the fairgrounds and may have a fifth generation helping out as they are among the top oldest exhibitors at the fair, boasting 88 years. Today Myers handles ambulances, buses, vans, plows and truck equipment as an authorized dealer for Thomas and Reading bodies.(Photo by J.T. Whitehouse)
Standing among the 1990 Canfield Fair display of ambulances is David Myers with his daughter Branda, representing the second and third generation of Myers fairgoers and exhibitors. (Photo courtesy of Paul and Brad Myers)
Myers’ fair exhibit isn’t always new as is evident in this 1980s trailer containing a used engine and plow. (Photo courtesy of Paul and Brad Myers)
An exhibitor since 1937, Myers Equipment brings a variety of bus, truck and equipment to exhibit during the annual Canfield Fair. Pictured here in the 1980s is a display of buses including the infamous Salem City trolley bus. (Photo courtesy of Paul and Brad Myers)
During the 1998 Canfield Fair, Myers Equipment built a garden display to highlight their exhibit at the corner of Beaver and Bishop drives on the fairgrounds. (Photo courtesy of Paul and Brad Myers)
Paul E. Myers, 1897-1982, incorporated his truck and chassis business in 1937 and placed an exhibit at the Canfield Fair. The business continues today to present the latest in bus, van, plows and truck equipment, missing only 2020 when no adult fair was held. (Photo courtesy of Paul and Brad Myers)
Brad Myers and Paul Myers represent the fourth generation to run the Canfield business and bring it to the fair. They will have the usual spot at Bishop and Beaver roads in the fairgrounds and may have a fifth generation helping out as they are among the top oldest exhibitors at the fair, boasting 88 years. Today Myers handles ambulances, buses, vans, plows and truck equipment as an authorized dealer for Thomas and Reading bodies.(Photo by J.T. Whitehouse)
Standing among the 1990 Canfield Fair display of ambulances is David Myers with his daughter Branda, representing the second and third generation of Myers fairgoers and exhibitors. (Photo courtesy of Paul and Brad Myers)
Myers’ fair exhibit isn’t always new as is evident in this 1980s trailer containing a used engine and plow. (Photo courtesy of Paul and Brad Myers)
An exhibitor since 1937, Myers Equipment brings a variety of bus, truck and equipment to exhibit during the annual Canfield Fair. Pictured here in the 1980s is a display of buses including the infamous Salem City trolley bus. (Photo courtesy of Paul and Brad Myers)
During the 1998 Canfield Fair, Myers Equipment built a garden display to highlight their exhibit at the corner of Beaver and Bishop drives on the fairgrounds. (Photo courtesy of Paul and Brad Myers)
Paul E. Myers, 1897-1982, incorporated his truck and chassis business in 1937 and placed an exhibit at the Canfield Fair. The business continues today to present the latest in bus, van, plows and truck equipment, missing only 2020 when no adult fair was held. (Photo courtesy of Paul and Brad Myers)
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On Feb. 22, 1847, Elisha Whittlesey addressed a convention considering the establishment of an agricultural society and the first Mahoning County agricultural fair. He titled the subject of his talk as "competitive exhibitions as a means of awakening more active interest in all industrial pursuits." Today's fair follows that directive by continuing to showcase the latest in equipment of all kinds.
Among the oldest exhibitors at the Canfield Fair is Myers Equipment of Canfield, which dates back 88 years when it was formed and first appeared on the fairgrounds.
"In 1937 my great-grandfather Paul E. Myers incorporated Myers Equipment," said Brad Myers. "He was a truck dealer and sold trucks and chassis."
He said Paul E. also brought an exhibit to the fair that year and has been displaying there ever since.
The Myers Equipment display started out on the hill next to the Commercial Building. After several years, the fair expanded, and Brad said his grandfather's exhibit was moved a little further south. The fair again moved the exhibit to the present location at the corner of Beaver and Bishop drives.
"When the first exhibit was displayed you parked inside the fairgrounds," grandson Paul Myers said. "Then the fair moved the cars to parking lots outside the fair."
The Myers Equipment display continued to feature the trucks and chassis as the business expanded into other areas. It has become a leader in the school bus market and offers quality ambulances as well as snow removal equipment. The business also has the only "bus crusher" in Ohio for buses that are ready for recycling.
As time went on, the business passed to David Myers, then to Craig Myers, and is now run by the fourth generation of Myers in Paul and Brad. Paul handles the school buses and Brad has charge of the truck division. Their father Craig serves as CEO and is a fair board director for the Canfield Fair.
Brad said the fair has been and continues to be an important part of the Myers family's end of summer. Grandfather David, 96, did not make the fair last year, missing the first fair of his life according to Brad.
"Our whole family is heavily rooted in the fair," Brad said. "Our kids are in the 4-H program."
He said David still has around 25 broodmares on his farm and the grandkids show ponies out of that herd.
Paul's children include Carson, 16, Alexa, 15, and Aubree, 11. All three are members of the Jackson-Milton Livestock 4-H Club. Carson also works at the family business as a technician during the summer months.
Brad's children include Lance, 17, Kathryn, 10, William, 7, Nora, 6, and David, 4. Lance shows dairy cows and is in 4-H. The remaining four children show open class ponies.
"I purchased a camper just for the fair," Brad said. "With such involvement from my children, it's easier to stay on the fairgrounds, so the camper comes out once a year for about 10 days."
Paul said the children will be the fifth generation and some will likely be heavily involved in the business in a few years.
For now, the Myers family will continue to put on the exhibit featuring one school bus, one ambulance, a commercial bus or van, and various trucks and equipment.
"We don't really have sales at the fair," Paul said. "It is more of a referral through what we are showing."
He said after the fair is when they have sales stemming from the event.
Taking out the pandemic year when the fair was only a closed junior fair, Myers has been exhibiting on the infamous "Machinery Row" a.k.a. "Tractor Alley" at the fairgrounds for 88 years. That makes the local business among the top, if not the top longest-running, family-owned equipment exhibitor in the Canfield Fair.