MERIDIAN — Hundreds of farmers, families and agricultural enthusiasts filed into the 10th annual farm toy show and sale on Saturday to see an array of toys, antiques and gadgets.

The event opened at 9 a.m. at Butler Township Volunteer Fire District Station 3, and by the afternoon about 200 people had filtered through.

It was hosted by the auxiliary of the Butler Township Volunteer Fire District.

“This is our 10th show,” said Linda Oesterling, auxiliary vice president. “We never thought we would make it because nobody knew about this stuff.”

Vendors come from across the country. For many of them, it's a regular stop each October.

“That guy is from Virginia Beach,” she said, gesturing. “He brings saltwater taffy every year.”

Another she pointed out came from New York.

All across the fire hall, folks combed through toys, antiques and agricultural items of every kind.

But amid that trove, one section stood out: farm displays.

These are intricate student-made miniature replicas of farms, often family farms, that feature all manner of tiny tractors, structures and animals surrounded by often handmade landscaping and topography.

“Look at the displays, and you'll see everything used in the displays are used on a farm,” Oesterling said.

The architects of these displays spare no detail in making their replicas look believable.

Colt Teets of Slippery Rock said he spent years working on his display.

“This is a hay operation and dairy cow operation,” he said. “It took me two years to make this one.”

Teets said he got into displays through a hobby of collecting tractors and his experience on his family's farm.

“When I was a kid I always liked these tractors and one day I decided to buy some plywood and I bought a ton of these tractors,” he said. “I farm in real life. We have a big farm in Slippery Rock.”

The Teets family has a beef operation, but Teets said his miniature barn wasn't a beef barn, so he pivoted to hay and dairy.

A table over, Carl Conrad stood by his display, a replica of a farm replete with trees, hills and rustic equipment.

“This is a semi-replica of our family farm,” he said.

This was not his first display, but it was his first time trying a new foam base, which let him customize the topography of the farm, he explained.

“This is the first one I made on a foam base which makes it like rolling hills and stuff like that,” Conrad said. “(I) got this piece of foam. Then I took an angle grinder with a chain wheel on it. Probably took me 20 minutes to carve all of it out. ... Then I sanded it all down.”

Once the structure of the replica was complete, he painted roads, added some grass and coffee grounds for dirt and organized vegetation, structures and farm equipment.

He spent about six months on it, he said.

Across the room, Ethan Zang, of Butler was presenting a display for the first time. He learned to build displays by helping a friend in past years.

“This year I decided to make my own,” he said. “I've been collecting tractors for a couple years.”

Zang said his inspiration came from time spent on his grandfather's farm.

“I grew up living next to my grandpa's farm and always helped there,” he said. “(I) liked tractors and doing things with him.”

Zang also went with the foam base and used turf and gravel for landscaping.

He said it took about three months.

Ten years ago, Oesterling said they didn't know if people would come to the event, but they were ultimately convinced by a late auxiliary member, Norma Neely.

“For five years she was like 'Oh, we need to do this,'” Oesterling said. “(We said) 'What is this? Nobody will come; We've never heard of it.'”

Today, the event is so busy that organizers had to turn away vendors due to a lack of space.

“It gets bigger every year,” Oesterling said.

She said they typically raise around $1,000, all of which goes to the fire department.

For more information or to get involved with the auxiliary, she said to visit the group's Facebook page.