HATFIELD — An orange truck that can ride and spin on its back wheels, blasts out colored smoke from a red, white and blue stovepipe and sounds a siren, seen in Hatfield parades and at local fairs and other regional events, will be the focus of the next Hatfield Historical Society presentation.
Known as the Hatfield Hellion, the stunt vehicle was originally built for the town’s tricentennial in 1970 and has been a fixture for municipal events ever since.
“The History of the Hatfield Hellion” talk, starting Thursday at 6 p.m. at the American Legion, 1 Prospect St., will focus on the mechanical skills and imagination of those who retrofitted the vehicle, possibly in just one night, and the reasons they wanted to create the unusual vehicle.
Meguey Baker, curator of the Hatfield Historical Museum, said she found the Hatfield Hellion to be a fantastic part of the town’s 350th anniversary parade in 2021, postponed due to the pandemic, and wanted to learn more about it.
“It’s easy, in museums, to focus on people and things long past, but sometimes we have to stop and notice history that’s right in front of us, and make sure to collect the stories and information while it’s still fresh in everyone’s minds,” Baker said.
The presentation will include a panel of speakers who know the ins and outs of the Hatfield Hellion, a slideshow and an opportunity for guests to share their memories of the crazy car.
Some of the original builders of the Hellion, which has also been called Leaping Lena and Leapy Bug, have died, while the current caretakers are mostly a new generation of residents closely involved with the upkeep of the 1953 pickup truck more than 50 years later.
“The truck was donated by George Zgrodnik and converted and built mostly by my father Henry (Chicup) Skorupski and George Rogaleski for Hatfield’s 300th anniversary,” said William Skorupski. “They were known as the Hatfield Hellions. I unfortunately was in Vietnam at the time, but remember my Mom and Dad writing to me about it.”
The event is receiving a grant from the Hatfield Cultural Council, a local agency supported by the Mass Cultural Council.