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Later, Frank returned for the tractor. He got more than a vintage classic.
"That tractor came with a ready-made grandfather," he said. "We've had a lot of fun with Art, me and my wife and my boy. He came down and stayed with us once and drove the tractor in a parade."
The Wisconsin was purchased new by Art's father in 1918, when Art was a teenager.
A workhorse for more than 30 years, the Wisconsin was last used in 1953. Time took its toll.
"When Art parked it, he had taken the radiator, carb and mag to the barn, and that was good," Frank says. "But he'd left it open, so mice had gotten into it, and it was full of mattress stuffing and walnut hulls. The hood had fallen over the motor, and that saved the motor, but cattle had about rubbed the sheet metal off."
"We spent a summer restoring it," he adds. "The motor wasn't stuck. The biggest challenge, really, was cleaning the mouse nest out, that and getting the cooling system cleaned out and running. But it runs good now. Basically, that motor hasn't been taken apart since it was three years old."
Most Wisconsins were used close to home, although Frank says he's heard that some were shipped to Argentina in the '20s. Tractor production ended sometime around 1923, but the company supplied Wisconsin replacement parts and reconditioned tractors until World War II (The McFarland company remains in business today, as a dealer of large farm equipment). After the war, Frank says, all remaining parts were loaded up to sell for scrap. After being tipped off, Art was on the scene almost immediately, salvaging two truck-loads of parts.
Parts are critical in restoration: Frank's been fortunate to obtain a parts tractor from Art's estate. His Wisconsin collection includes the restored 1918 Wisconsin rated 22-40 ("It's a little bit heavier and a little bit longer than a 22-36 McCormick, and it has as much or more power," Frank says); a 1917 Wisconsin (unrestored but running); and a 1923 Wisconsin in rough shape.
A tractor collector for 30 years, Frank counts the Wisconsin and a 20-40 Rumely Oil Pull among his favorites.