BOYERTOWN PA – Duryea Day, a six-hour celebration of classic vehicles of all kinds, observes its 60th anniversary Saturday (Sept. 5, 2026).
The party will be hosted by the Boyertown Museum of Historic Vehicles, in partnership with the Pottstown Region chapter of the Antique Automobile Club of America. As in years past, it will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Boyertown Community Park, 419 S. Madison St.
The museum and club will present an antique and classic car and truck show, and accompanying flea market. All are intended, the museum says, “to strengthen community ties,” as well as to “raise important funding” for museum operations and maintenance of its collections and facilities.
Hundreds of vehicles will be on display throughout the park. Event-day registration of show vehicles will be available. All makes, models, and years of vehicles are welcome, the museum adds.
This year’s event features two exciting performances by Elvis Presley impersonator Bob Hamel. He will sing Elvis classics many know and love. The day also includes several delicious food trucks and vendors. Among them are Johnny’s Pizza, Moyer’s Catering, The Peppermint Stick Candy Store and Ice Cream Parlor, Cosmic Kettle Corn, and Helping Hands.
Spectator admission for the event is $10 for adults; those age 12 and younger will be admitted free. The admission cost covers entrance to both the park and the museum. Shuttle service is available between both locations throughout the event.
Top photo at an earlier Duryea Day, by Travels With The Post
Showcasing the Pullman
The museum’s Duryea Day-featured vehicle is the Pullman automobile.
The Pullman Motor Car Company, founded by Arthur Broomall in York PA, began as a luxury automobile manufacturer. The “Pullman” name was used because of its association with Pullman train cars. The two are not related, but the car’s reputation benefited from the trains’ known quality and opulence.
The first Pullman was built in 1903. It featured a unique, but disastrous, six-wheel design. Production of vehicles for which Pullman would eventually become known began in 1905.
These models sold well, and the company became noted for its luxury and quality. However, recovery from the Panic of 1907 was slow, and the company struggled financially. It adopted mass-production methods, and made more widespread use of purchased items. They led to a decline in model quality, and production ceased in late 1917.
Of the total number of vehicles built by Pullman between 1905 and 1917, just 25 are known to have survived.
Above photo from the National Photo Company Collection in the
Library of Congress, used in the public domain via Wikimedia
New at the Museum
Take advantage of the dual park-museum admission to see one of museum’s newest additions: a 1940 Bantam Pickup Truck. Its manufacturer, American Bantam, grew out of the earlier American Austin company. It had introduced compact, economical cars to the American market at the start of the Depression.
Reorganized in Butler PA during the mid-1930s, Bantam continued to build small automobiles and light delivery vehicles. They were distinguished by clever engineering, modest dimensions, and efficient operation.
By 1940, Bantam’s pickups and roadsters represented the final chapter of the company’s civilian automobile production. Then the demands of war reshaped American industry, and Bantam with it.
Beneficial Sponsorships
The 60th annual Duryea Day is sponsored locally by Truist, D&S Elite Construction, Gabelsville Athletic Association, Quigley Bus Service, Camping World, Morell Funeral Home, Kathy Barry Agency, and Pottstown Hospital-Tower Health.
The Boyertown Museum of Historic Vehicles is a non-profit organization founded in 1965 by Paul and Erminie Hafer. Located at 85 S. Walnut St. in Boyertown PA, it preserves and displays examples of Pennsylvania’s road transportation history in the former factory buildings of the Boyertown Auto Body Works. The museum is open seven days a week, from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
More than 90 locally manufactured cars, trucks, carriages, bicycles, and motorcycles are on display there. So are three examples of roadside architecture: a 1921 cottage-style Sunoco gas station, a 1938 Jerry O’Mahony diner, and an early 20th-century “Tip Top” tourist cabin.
Our entertainment reporting covers the arts and culture, shows, exhibits, performances, festivals, and community-related activities within, or that affect residents of, Montgomery, Berks, and Chester PA counties. Find more entertainment articles here. Also, see and join the Pottstown Arts and Cultural Alliance group on Facebook.
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