CANFIELD - A handful of people gathered to watch a piece of history in action near Gate F at the Canfield Fair.
In the antique machinery section, Shawn Watson fired up an excavator that is one of about 18 left in the United States and demonstrated how a machine that pre-dates World War II can still dig a hole about a foot deep.
They watched Watson, 51, of Homeworth, who volunteers to set the equipment up and run it at the Canfield Fair, teach an apprentice, Michael Sappio, 25, of Niles, how to use the antique excavator.
Watson, a machinery history buff, said the 1926 Keystone Excavator Model F Skinner is one of only 18 known shovels in the country.
"I just happened to be a serious history buff," said Watson, whose 1915 steam-powered excavator is on long-term loan at the Little Beaver Historical Society Museum in Darlington, Pa. "I just love old-rusty iron. I have rusty blood. There's no (machinery) like it. It's in a class all its own."
The machine is owned by Mark Duran, Burgettstown, Pa., whose extensive collection filled the antique machines area. Among others equipment, there was also an antique shingle mill that Duran's brother Lloyd, 58, also of Burgettown, Pa., demonstrated.
The shingle mill has a large circular saw that slices wood in to blocks. Lloyd Duran said the process of getting ready for the fair starts in July when they begin transporting the machines.
It takes them about eight days to move the equipment. Most of it weighs more than three tons and they can only fit one machine at a time on their trailer to make the one-hour-plus trip.
"It's a grand experience," said Lloyd Duran, whose 1952 John Deere A tractor also was on display. "It's so much fun to see how people used to work. We always have a fabulous time coming here."
The machinery, especially the 1926 excavator, caught the eye of Mike Scardina when he was about 12 years old. He started hanging out by the excavator when he came with his father, whose construction company, Scardina Construction, was at the fair. He watched for hours and eventually Watson helped him set up the machines.
Later he taught him how to operate it.
Scardina, now 25 and the owner of his father's company, is a proud expert on the machine.
"How many people get the opportunity to run this?" Scardina said. "I just came and hung out and watched when I was a kid. It's my baby now. I marvel at that its able to function."
Watson said he believes only about 15 people in the country know how to properly use the Model F. Scardina takes pride in being one of those 15.
"The best feeling I've got out of doing this is when I've been sitting up there running the machine, and someone older will stop and watch," he said. "They ask about it and tell me a story about a similar shovel they remember. They say to see someone my age using the shovel takes them back to when it was actually used.
It gives me a sense of accomplishment. It reminds you that you are a unique individual."
