With five country bands on the stage in three days, it’s not surprising that the Iowa 80 Truck Stop was filled with music during the 36th Annual Truckers Jamboree.
But it was the 30 seconds it took to sing “Happy Birthday” that may have been the musical highlight of the three-day event that drew 40,000-plus people to the self-proclaimed World’s Largest Truck Stop.
A healthy crowd in the truck stop’s Trucking Museum were singing in honor of a 1915 Mack AB being celebrated on its 100th birthday.
The truck is said to be the oldest Mack AB around, and its birthday celebration drew an admiring crowd. There was even cake.
Dave Meier is the curator of the museum. He presided over a brief presentation on the history of the truck, which was in Florida before coming to the museum in Iowa.
Here’s its specs:
- 255.33 c.i. engine
- 4 cylinders
- 4” bore
- 5” stroke
- 4 speed transmission
- Top speed of about 24 mph
- 51,364 Mack AB’s built between 2015 and 1937
- 383 of them built in 1915
Meier then turned the program over to three young women who led the crowd in the singing. That was followed by the cake, of course. Lots of cake.
Here’s what Meier said about the Mack AB …
Scenes from a 100th Birthday Party …
