Tinkering with cars and machinery in his farmyard near Cupar gave mechanically-inclined teenager Bruno Konecsni his start in a life-long hobby.

By the time he discovered the Draggins Rod & Custom Car Club's annual show, Konecsni was hooked.

"There was never a time when I quit working with cars," Konecsni says. "When I entered the 1975 show with a 1966 Corsa mid-engine sports car and got second in the full custom class, it opened up a new world to me."

The first meeting of the Draggins was in October of 1957. On April 1, 1961, the club launched its first annual car show at the downtown arena. It has grown into a springtime spectacle for owners all across Canada, many of whom are steering again toward Saskatoon's Credit Union Centre on Friday and Saturday.

With proceeds from shows and related projects, the Draggins have raised almost $1 million for Camp Easter Seal during two decades. The current campaign is to improve accessibility with more decks and pathways as well as adding modern climate controls and washrooms for the cabins near Watrous.

On the farm, Konecsni learned to keep machinery operating through ingenuity and necessity. When he helped his father rebuild the motor of a Massey 44 tractor, the internal combustion engine caught his fancy.

"I built my first go-cart out of plywood, 2x4s and a four horsepower, air-cooled engine out of my grandfather's sprayer,'' Konecsni says.

Later, he built a hot rod with neighbour Harold Keyser using a V-8 engine out of an International truck, the frame of a Model A Ford and two transmissions. It was used on the road as well as in the fields.

"The first car I bought was a 1967 Pontiac convertible," says Konecsni.

He earned his degree in social sciences from the University of Saskatchewan and joined Simpsons-Sears in Saskatoon in the personnel department before returning to the university as human resources manager in 1976 and retiring in 2003.

The mission of the original Draggins was to promote safe driving and to present hot rodding as a lawful, safe sport, says Konecsni.

The car show, the first one of the season on the Prairies, took on remarkable significance. It moved to the Jubilee Building on the Exhibition grounds in 1964 and then took the big step to Saskatchewan Place in 1988, a space three times larger. They went from about 70 entries to about 200.

"Our first show in the building was a huge success,'' says Konecsni.

"What we do every Easter weekend says something about the vision of the people who started the club. Their original clubhouse was in a converted chicken coop on the edge of a farm yard. We've since moved to more modern facilities with 12 bay areas where people can work on their cars. It's fascinating to restore beautiful cars and share our creations with others."

Members also created an awareness of safety through ice drag racing, appearances in parades, the car shows and cruise nights.

Show categories include antiques, hot rods, restorations and special interest vehicles.

Among this year's antiques are a 1923 McLaughlin Buick, a 1930 Marmon Coupe and a 1951 MG TD Roadster, perhaps the benchmark of British sports cars. Among the hot rods are a 1923 Ford Roadster, a 1932 Ford HiBoy Roadster and a 1934 Ford Cabriolet. Among the custom cars are a 1953 Oldsmobile radical custom, a 1923 Mustang full custom and a 1997 Honda Civic radical tuner. The special interest class has attracted, among others, a 1948 Camaro RS/SS, a 1969 Camaro convertible Indy pace car and a pair of 1970 Shelby GTs.

"We provide incentives for exhibitors to travel to enter our show. The trophies and prize money is around $10,000. Mostly, I think our own club members have been good ambassadors at our shows. Most satisfying is that visitors like the way we have contributed to Camp Easter Seal. There are times when category winners donate their prize money to the cause," Konecsni says.

There is an active club membership of between 30 and 35. Over the years, there have been between 150 and 175 members.

Some members are mechanical technicians and body shop employees. For others, it's strictly a hobby. The average member owns three special interest cars and maintains them for car shows or rod runs. "The opportunity to get together and work together is fulfilling,'' Konecsni says. "You can't beat the camaraderie. Everything we do is family-oriented and focused on a worthy cause."

Konecsni and his wife Marjorie have two children. Darren is an employee of Hitachi Canadian Industries and Sheala is in her third year of environmental studies at the University of Saskatchewan.