Gunfights in the street, a medicine man show, steam engine whistles, train robbers, threshing … am I in the late 1800s?

Gunfight reenactment during the Midwest Old Threshers Reunion in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa.

Nope, it’s the Midwest Old Threshers Reunion in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa. It runs over Labor Day weekend every year, and this year the dates were Sept. 3-7, 2009.

	Linda and Bob Crowell as they work at the Farm Collector and Gas Engine Magazine tent.

As Farm Collector and Gas Engine Magazine, we set up in a tent at this show. It is always nice to meet so many of our readers, new subscribers and “subscribers from the beginning.” We enjoy when you stop in to say hi, renew your subscription, sign up for prizes or purchase books. Several employees from our office help out in the booth along with Bob and Linda Crowell of Batesville, Ind. They have sold our magazines for many years at various shows. Their knowledge and friendly manner are a welcome addition and we appreciate all their assistance!

This year Christian Williams, our associate editor, drew a crowd by singing a few of his tunes he wrote to poems written by the men and women of the glory days of steam farming. His CD “Songs of the Iron Men” can be purchased by visiting the Steam Traction store, and you can preview a song on his blog, The Water Hopper.

Walking down the Steam Traction road you can feel the mist of the steam from the boilers and see the smoke blowing across the field.		Other sights you might see are horses on the treadmill, sorghum making, shingle mill, steam engines running Baker fans and more.		It’s fun walking through the engine area. There are Maytag washtubs spewing bubbles, roasting peanuts, even squirting flowers for the kid in all of us!

The Drive a Tractor area is where kids can try their hand at driving an antique tractor with some supervision. It takes a lot of volunteers and members to put on a show and this one is no exception. The Drive a Tractor area is just one area of many where those volunteers offer their expertise.

Many people stopped by our booth to sign up for the prizes donated by advertisers. We had overalls, shop manuals, toy models, tire paint, a tractor flag, rust lubricator and even tractor tires. Advertisers who donated this year included Klein Brothers Hardware, Penton Media (Clymer), Nixon Auctioneers, M.E. Miler Tire, First Gear, Inc., Wally’s Tractor Hats, SpecCast, Valu-Bilt Tractor Parts, Northco Products, Antique Caterpillar Machinery Owners Club, McCormick USA and Wilson Tire. See our sweepstakes offers online on this website to enter for more prizes.

Last year my parents made the trek from Kansas to see what the talk was all about and enjoyed it so much they returned for this year’s Mt. Pleasant show. Come and see this show or any of the shows all over the country and support the hard-working clubs who make them possible.

See you down the road!

The 19th Annual Wheatland Poppin’ Johnnies Swap Meet will be Oct. 30, 31 and Nov. 1, 2009 (Halloween weekend).

Originally scheduled for Oct. 23-25, the swap meet changed dates due to a scheduling conflict at the venue.

Held at the Kansas Coliseum Pavilion, I-135 and 85th St. N. in Wichita, Kan., the swap meet will include a toy show, arts and crafts, stationary engines, a tractor show, and sale: tractors, parts, equipment and related farm items, any make. An antique auction will be provided by Nixon Auctioneers of Wakefield, Neb., on Saturday at 2 p.m. The hours for the swap meet are 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday through Saturday and then Sunday 9 a.m. till noon.

A drawing will be held for a 1939 Model B John Deere (serial number 84334). The Antique & Classic Tractor Pull for 1952 and older using Division 2 and 3 NATPA Rules starts Oct. 26 at 11 a.m.

Call Bob Metzger at (316) 775-2834 for information on the tractor pull, and for information on the swap meet call Kevin Rooney at (866) 722-7515 or Frank Kaster at (316) 323-7097.

Take a drive through the Flint Hills of Kansas and come enjoy the swap meet — hope to see you there!

Biggest flying American flag, Big Foot and Big Bud.

The biggest flying American flag, a highlight of the I & I Antique Tractor Club’s Half Century of Progress show.

			The sign Rodney displayed with his father’s IH tractor. Click the image above for a larger version.
	McCormick CEO Rodney Miller restored and displayed his father's International Harvester 1086 tractor.
	The 15-foot-tall, 22-foot-wide, 122,000-pound Big Bud 747 tractor.
	Left to right: A barbeque grill on skis, hitched to a snowmobile; a look at a few of the 700-plus golf carts cruising the grounds; and a Case working the field during a demonstration. Click the three images above for larger versions.

That was the tagline the I & I Antique Tractor Club used for its Half Century of Progress show in Rantoul, Ill. Held Aug. 27-30, 2009, at the Rantoul National Aviation Center Airport, the show runs every other year.

The shows premier sponsor was McCormick. The CEO of McCormick, Rodney Miller, was there with his 1086 IH tractor that he had restored in his dad’s, Gene Miller’s, honor.

There was quite a flurry of activity and lots of cameras flashing around one of the main attractions, the Big Bud 747. The tractor came from Sandy, Mont., and is 15 feet tall and 22 feet wide (with the wheels on). It weighs 122,000 pounds and has nearly 1,000 hp.

Anyone for a quick BBQ while racing down the tundra on your snowmobile?!

I heard rumors that there were at least 700 golf carts running around the show on the day I was there. Understandable, when you take in the fact that the show sets on 100 acres of concrete and 400 acres of farmland.

The club doesn’t have a specific feature for the show so there was a variety of makes and models of tractors. You can also see field demonstrations, hand corn husking demos, tractor pulls and a stage show with Orion Samuelson and Max Armstrong.

Don’t forget to mark your calendars for 2011 to attend the next Half Century of Progress big show. There are already big plans in the works!

See you down the road!

Billed as the largest gas engine show in the world …

… the Tri-State Gas Engine Show in Portland, Ind., was held Aug. 26-30, 2009.

As I make my way past the engines and tractors, parts and pieces, and dodge golf carts and moving iron, I know it must be true. (My feet say so, anyway!)
 

	Click the two images above for larger versions.

The feature this year was Lesser-Known Tractors (or Orphans). Orphan tractors usually come from companies that went out of business or weren’t merged into another company. There were 100 different models of orphan tractors featured, with names like Rockol, Global, Gray, Happy Farmer, Love, Wards and on and on. The feature engine was Ohio-built engines.

Here’s a small sampling of some of the creative thinking I saw. This Harley-Davidson garden tractor and this souped-up snowmobile were engineered by Scott Werling of Decatur, Ind., and this custom tractor tricycle was invented by Myrl Hawley of Onandaga, Mich.

Left to right: Myrl Hawley's custom tractor tricycle, and Scott Werling's Harley-Davidson garden tractor and racing snowmobile.

	Lee Anderson, Frazee, Minn., stands with his motorized horseless carriage.
	A look at the motor of Lee’s horseless carriage.
	The Corn Items Collectors booth was an interesting and colorful spot to visit.

Lee Anderson of Frazee, Minn., constructed a motorized horseless carriage that drew a lot of attention. This 1908 motor buggy is a reconstructed blacksmith-built auto. The engine is from an unknown make of a 1908-era auto.

It’s built mostly of pre-1911 orphan auto parts and various carriage and buggy parts, and it took Lee 25 years to accumulate the parts and build it. He said it was built to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the heyday of the high-wheel auto, a forgotten style of transportation designed for rural use before roads were common. The engine is a 12 hp, air-cooled, 2-cylinder opposed engine.

Thursday evening of the show is set aside for the ATIS (Antique Tractor Internet Services) banquet. ATIS is a community of friends who enjoy each other’s company and help each other during the trials and tribulations of restoring and preserving old tractors. This great group of engine and tractor collectors holds a meeting and an auction every year during the Portland show. The proceeds of the auction are pegged for various charities. ATIS has helped many good causes and they have a lot of fun in the process.

Portland also hosts a Fall Swap Meet in October and a Spring Swap Meet in May, which keeps the club members and volunteers hopping.

See you down the road!

Hi, I’m back. Back from another antique tractor show.

The Auto-Mower from the McCormick International Harvester Archives, Wisconsin Historical Society.

Boy, this one really had me seeing RED and a lot of it, but I mean in a good way. It was the 20th annual International Harvester Collectors Club Red Power Round Up. Sponsored by Case IH, Cub Cadet and the Wisconsin Historical Society, hosted by Wisconsin Chapter No. 4 and held July 23-25 at Willow Island at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison, Wis. Even the center’s Veterans Memorial Coliseum dome was red for the occasion!

George Monis took some time out of his busy schedule during the show to tell me about the club. They became incorporated and strove to have the funds they raised allocated directly to the McCormick International Harvester Collection archives at the Wisconsin Historical Society.

Over the years, the Wisconsin Chapter  No. 4 has raised some $50,000 itself and has funneled funds from other donors and chapters totaling over $100,000. This helps make the archives, photos and information available to the public and used for advertising and publicity for Case IH. Many items from the archive collections were on display at the show, including memorabilia from Cyrus McCormick and the first tractor built in North America, the Auto-Mower.

The sponsors helped make it possible for the country music recording artist Craig Morgan to perform at the show, and author and humorist Michael Perry to make an appearance, mixed in with displays of new and old tractors and equipment.

A group of IH collectors led by the Nebraska Cowman tore down an F-20 and rebuilt it during the show. It was then auctioned off on Saturday, proceeds going to the McCormick International Collection.

Antique Farmall tractors at the 20th annual International Harvester Collectors Club Red Power Round Up.		The Red Power Round Up also had a new Case tractor on display.
This corral of kids enjoyed chasing each other around in the pedal tractor area.		Artist Charles Freitag of Marion, Iowa, painted in the sunshine on his newest work of art.
Jim and Jane Rose's 1954 Farmall SA Fire Trac included a sign with information about their tractor.		Another view of the Brookville, Ohio, couple's Farmall SA Fire Trac.
A group of IH collectors tearing down and rebuilding an F-20 and rebuilt it during the show.		The parade of Farmalls and patriotic flags was quite a sight and a nice farewell to another show.

Just a reminder, the 2010 Red Power Roundup will be held in LaPorte, Ind., and hosted by the IH Collectors of Northern Indiana, Chapter No. 33.

See you down the road!

I love hitting the road to attend the different tractor and engine shows and swap meets.

I met club historian Clem Demmin and he let me share the buddy seat with club secretary Jeanne Zielinski in the parade on his 1957 Model 720 Hi-Crop. Where’s the “parade wave”?

I just returned from the New York State Two-Cylinder Expo IX held July 9-11, 2009, in Canandaigua, N.Y. This Kansas farm girl found New York to be a friendly place to visit, despite the Dorothy jokes – which just goes to show, the tractor and engine enthusiasts are the nicest bunch of folks, wherever you go. And what a beautiful setting for a show!

Four Two-Cylinder clubs lent their expertise and hard work to the Expo (Finger Lakes, Southern Tier, Western New York and Central New York) to make this a really nice event to be a part of. It’s held at the New York Steam Engine Assn. grounds east of Canandaigua. I met Dave Shearns of the Pageant of Steam Assn., which is held this year on Aug. 5-8 at the same grounds. Dave was kind enough to show me around the buildings chock full of beautiful old steam engines and other equipment.

Like these John Deere Utility tractors (below). John Craig of Mentone, Ind., wanted to see this elite set of U’s displayed together at various shows. Although he doesn’t actually own any of them, he hauls them to the shows for the mere satisfaction of showing them off.  They are divided into two models, 330s and 430s. Each model is divided by color.

Left to right, top to bottom: Dan Yeck's green 1960 John Deere 430 LP (one of three); Kenny Smith's red 1960 John Deere 330 (one of four) and one of two known; Dan's yellow 1960 John Deere 330 (one of 92) and one of two shipped with factory silencer muffler; Ray Mak's yellow 1960 John Deere 430 (one of 68 built) and his red 1960 John Deere 430, the only one known; and John Craig's 1960 John Deere Industrial 840 self-elevating scraper the he restored himself, only about 300 were built with the model 400 scraper pan.

Included in the show was an auction, tractor pulls, seminars, pedal tractor pulls, good food, and plenty of exhibitors and vendors to see. There are so many premiere tractors and equipment and the collectors and stories to go with them. I am always in awe of the heart and soul poured into each piece.

Left to right: This pink 1949 MT owned by Lillian Foster of Red Creek, N.Y., stood out among all the green; Dave Shearns of the New York Steam Assn. shares stories while Travis Hutchins of Wilson Tire looks on; and Al and Brenda Hain of the Western New York Club let me land in their tent space off and on during the show. They have the Expo IX limited edition ’32 Ford toy delivery sedan available for this year’s show (585-227-1864). Click the three images above for larger versions.

Attending the shows and swap meets in the past, I have run across a variety of contraptions, from a gas-powered pogo stick (courtesy of Tom Pfieffer of Galion, Ohio, at the swap meet in Portland, Ind.) to gas-powered skate boards, crazy “butt buggies” and souped up lawnmowers. Proof that American ingenuity is alive and well! All the events have their own flair and feel but the common thread is always the great people.

Thanks to everyone involved in the show who made me feel welcome.

See you down the road at the next one!

— Terri Keitel, Advertising Account Executive
Farm Collector and Gas Engine Magazine