By Brenda Erdahl

There are plenty of unique items to see at the Gear-Head Get Together, from collectibles and hot rods to souped-up lawn mowers and hand-built motorcycles, but nothing compares to Bob Ahonen’s 38-foot-long, bright red fire truck, especially when he’s holding up the 100-foot ladder with the American flag attached to it, flying boldly over the festivities.

Ahonen has long been a car enthusiast, ever since he bought his grandfather’s 1957 Buick Century as a college student in the 1960s. He estimates he owns more than a dozen vehicles on the 80-acre property he and his wife, Adele Leary, own east of Annandale, but the king of his collection is the fire truck.

“It gets the most attention,” he said.

Purchased at an online auction in 2018 by a fire department in Kent, Washington, it draws a crowd every year to the southeast corner of Community Park, where Ahonen has displayed it at Gear-Head every year 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 submitted a bid and received the award.

“Her last dollar was 10 grand, we paid eight and drove it home,” Ahonen said.

Since then, many children have sat behind the big steering wheel and inspected the interior at Gear-Head and other shows that Ahonen has taken it to.