“…funny thing happened on the way to the Old Thresher’s Reunion this year…” I made a detour and stopped at the Farm Progress show in Boone, Iowa. A monster of a show, Farm Progress is held in Boone, and alternates in Decatur, Illinois every other year. The Boone site has nearly 85 acres, and the show occupies an additional 300 acres for field demonstrations, plus 180 acres for visitor parking. And I think I parked on the 179th acre! The dates this year were August 28-30, 2012. Next year you can visit Decatur, Illinois on August 27-29, 2013 to see the show, and for more info you can go to www.farmprogress.com.

I didn’t spend enough time to see everything, but I got a taste of the show. Here’s one of our advertisers, Worthington, Ag Parts.
 

Several antique tractor clubs display their old iron on Antique Row.
 

I got to watch Orion Samuelson and Max Armstrong on stage. 
 

Moving on to the Old Threshers Reunion down the road in Mt Pleasant, the show dates were August 30-September 3, 2012. As has been our tradition, Farm Collector and Gas Engine Magazine are represented in a big tent area set up just east of the Grandstand and the food building. (A very strategic placing for those of us who work the booth. It’s close by the delicious meals, rib eye sandwiches and ice cream, to make sure we keep our strength up!)
 

And the daily Cavalcade of Power parade participants motor right by our tent, so we get a great view! 
 

Allis Chalmers was the tractor feature this year and it was also the Stickney gas engine reunion as well.
 

 

I always appreciate the fantastic prizes many of our advertisers donate. We get so many people who stop in to enter the prize drawing. And I love that every year someone stops in just to tell me that they got a prize last year and were so excited that they had actually won! See, you really can win, so stop in next year and enter! Here’s a picture of the prizes from this past show.
 

On Saturday we got some rain and I snapped this picture of these little girls. They know how to enjoy a puddle without getting too wet, and maybe the fashion craze will catch on!
 

Running around the grounds filling up gas tanks, I loved the PEP Gas boys' shirts! 
 

The Midwest Old Threshers Association opened a new Welcome Center on the grounds this year, a super addition and a testament to the continued growth of the association and the hobby!

It’s always fun to be a part of this show with tractors, engines, steam engines, villages, trains, trolleys, concerts … It’s a hopping place to be every Labor Day weekend. The next show is August 29-Sept. 2, 2013. See www.oldthreshers.org for details!

See you down the road!

According to Board Member Al Confer, the Tri-State Gas Engine Assn. has seen an average of 65,000 to 75,000 in attendance at their shows, and one year they got an estimated count of 96,000at the Tri-State Gas Engine Show! A real testament to the popularity of the antique tractor and engine hobby.

People, golf carts, tractors, and hey, what was that…!? All kinds of ways to get to that next place on the show grounds to see anything and everything. The vendors and exhibitors are lined up for rows and rows, and every year it seems to get bigger. With vendors selling whatever you need for that restoration or fixer upper, and anything collectible, you will surely find what your little old iron heart desires. There are field demonstrations and activities plus a craft and flea market area, too.

This year the feature was Case tractors and Kentucky-built engines. 

 

 

This was my mode of transportation this year! Kind of a mobile work station! 

 

Just as an example of some of the interesting sights to see, how about this? An old carnival ride tub mounted on a trailer. Get in and take a spin, it’s great for parties, and it’s for sale!! 

 

This guy greets everyone coming and going at the show. Love his outfit! 

 

And this couple knows how to see the show in style. This is Ralph, Jr. and Tammy Hart of Newberry, Indiana. 

 

Here are a few more show photos.

 

 

 

 

Come see the show next year August 21-25, 2013. And don’t forget there are Swap Meets in May and October!

Visit www.tristategasenginetractor.com, for more information.

See you down the road! 

Quite a place to have a show! I had never been to this one so, accompanied by Farm Collector Editor, Leslie McManus, I got to experience the sights and sounds created by Steve and Sylvia Bauer at the Little Log House Pioneer Village Antique Power Show in Hastings, Minnesota, July 27-29, 2012. The Bauer family has created a restored pioneer village to display some of southern Minnesota’s most prized artifacts, and it is a perfect setting for an antique tractor and engine show.

Here is what you are greeted by at the gate; does he stay up there all day!?

 

There is quite a hodgepodge of vintage iron across the grounds.

 

 

 

 

Walking through the displays, you can’t help but feel like you really did walk through a time warp. The 1950s Drive-In diner called Porky’s, surrounded by classic cars is one sight that pushes you though that time door.  (By the way, the cheese curds and burgers were awesome)

 

Up the hill, you can check out a working quarry.

 

Then walk across the old spiral bridge, which is a replica of the Hastings Spiral Bridge that was torn down in 1951. 

 

If you go, you have to enjoy the beauty and serenity of “Sylvia’s Garden.” A nice floral addition to a tractor show!

 

And right beside that is the old flour mill and water wheel. Lots of photo ops there. 

 

There is a main street setup with many impressive specialty displays, like a telephone building, a dress shop, a saloon, an old jail, and the Land Office, which had many pieces of history, photos, and survey equipment that helped build this land.

There was also military encampment with several different eras portrayed by the reenactors. When we walked though the army Quonset hut, they were polishing their boots, cleaning their guns, drinking out of old fashioned Coke bottles, and eating their MRE’s. There were even pin-up girls on the walls! It really made you feel like you had stepped back into time, or at least into an old war movie! 

 

There was a 1912 Big Four “30” gas tractor there with the self-steering device that was an exclusive feature of this tractor. A giant on the prairie, for sure.

 

This show is held the last full weekend in July. Mark your calendars for July 26-28, 2013, to visit and enjoy some history along with old tractors and engines, good food, music, and stop to smell the flowers in the garden along the way!

See you down the road! 

 

Fade to Green ... It’s the 10^th bi-annual show for the New York State Two-Cylinder Expo Assn. in Canandaigua, New York. In the Finger Lakes area, the surroundings and weather are usually very accommodating. As you pull into the parking area, you are greeted by officers on horseback directing you to your spot. Walking through the show, it’s all John Deere, from the parts, signs, seats, manuals, gauges, decals to the tractors and implements lined up, with an occasional pink John Deere for good measure and a good cause.

 

 

 

During the show I caught up with and took a video of the Sign Man of Ohio. I see owners Ron and Sue Kennedy at a lot of different shows all over the country selling their tractor signs and badges and we haven’t decided yet if they are following me or I am following them! See their video about their business by clicking here to go to the FarmCollector.com Bulletin Board.

The auction at the show was run by Delos Dann of Dann Auctioneers of Canandaigua and lasted about six hours with three auctioneers. There were 112 consigners from 11 states and Canada, and 668 bidder numbers represented 25 states and Canada. A few items that sold were 2 John Deere 330’s that went for $26,000 and $22,100 respectively and a Hi-Crop that went for $20,000. 780 exhibits made up the show this year and 87 vendors set up.

 

Al and Brenda Hain were selling the Expo Toy for this year and previous years. It is a 1957 Chevy Cameo 350 pickup truck made by A&B Collectibles in Rochester. You can order yours by calling 585-227-1864 or by e-mailing alswife127@aol.com. Cost is $35 plus $8 shipping.

 

The New York State Expo Assn. is made up of four John Deere clubs: The Finger Lakes Two-Cylinder Club, Central New York Two-Cylinder Club, Southern Tier Two-Cylinder Club and the Western New York Two-Cylinder Club.This show takes turns with the Ohio Two-Cylinder Assn. so each has a show every other year. In 2012 the Expo will be held in Springfield, Ohio In 2013 it will be back in Canandaigua.. If you go to this show, make sure to take in Niagara Falls and some of the area tourist spots if you can.

 

Follow me on Facebook at Terri Keitel or Twitter @happytrailsfcm.

Happy “Green” Trails this time.

See you down the road!

Hosted by the IH Collectors Minnesota Chapter #15 this year, the 22^nd annual National Red Power Round Up was held June 23-25 in Albert Lea, Minn., at the Freeborn County Fairgrounds.

I traveled with my manager, Rod Peterson, for this show and we stopped in Manchester, Minn., on the way to the show to see the folks at Jensales. They sell tractor manuals for nearly every make of tractor! Check out their website at www.jensales.com. We got to meet Paul, Debbie, Vicky, Cari, Tim, Joshua, Laura and even Paul’s daughters, Emily and Odelia.  (We were honored to get the autograph of Emily who is a rising star with a school science award!) Rod and Paul found another common interest: motorcycles. Rod sells and manages ads for our sister publication, Motorcycle Classics, and Paul and his wife are active on the motorcycle racing circuit!

We also stopped by the Jensales booth when we were at the show and made a video of Paul talking about the company. You can view that on our website at http://www.farmcollector.com/bulletin-board/profiles-jensales-inc.aspx.

At the show, we saw lots of vendors and lots of spectators. There were toy tractor and manual vendors in the buildings along with other types of vendors and many of the state IH Collectors Chapters were set up in buildings as well. Other vendors and exhibitors were outside. I made another video of one of the vendors. Check out http://www.farmcollector.com/bulletin-board/profiles-roys-red-iron.aspx, to see Roy Edwards of Roy’s Red Iron of East Ridge, Tenn., tell you all about his business for tractors, parts and equipment. To learn more go to www.roysrediron.com.

We talked to Billy Steers, author of Tractor Mac children’s books. Check out the website at www.tractormac.com. He was busy signing autographs, and the kids love Tractor Mac!

 

Billy was kind enough to donate a set of his books for our drawing in our booth at the Old Thresher’s Reunion coming up Labor Day weekend at Mt Pleasant, Iowa. Come by and sign up to win!

Meg and David of Meg’s Art World, www.megsartworld.com, showcased some beautiful paintings depicting tractors, threshing and farm life, painted by Russell Sonnenberg.

 

 

One feature at the show was the big “round-up” of white Demonstrator models.

 

 

The consignment auction was held on Friday by Cary Aasness of Aasness Auction. I got to meet both Cary and his wife Anita from Dalton, Minn. You can view their website at www.aasnessauctioneers.com.

The 50^th year anniversary of Cub Cadet was celebrated during the event.

 

Food and entertainment rounded out the Round Up. As you know, I always like to try something new and unique when I travel, so this time it was deep-fried Oreo cookies topped with whipped cream and chocolate syrup. (My husband says that makes his teeth hurt just thinking about it!)

Here are a few more pictures from the show.

 

 

 

That's me with Big Bertha. Big Bertha is owned by Farmall-Land Museum, Jerry Mez, Avoca, Iowa. Big Bertha and I were both born in 1961!

Next year the RPRU will be held in DuQuoin, Ill., hosted by the IH Collectors Club of Southern Illinois, Chapter #32.

See you down the road! Happy “Red” Trails!

Portland, Indiana. May 18-21, 2011. Mud, again with the mud. I shouldn’t complain, I only had to walk in it, others had to pull their trailers out, set up their booth spaces … and the area farmers weren’t even able to get into the fields. Actually we did have some mud and a little rain but we also had a couple of days of clear weather and sun.

In the whole scheme of things, it seems like the weather may not have as much of an effect when people are planning on going to the shows or swaps anyway, and it makes for a great adventure!

The swap meet grounds are on approximately 28 acres and are on the west side of the Jay County Fairgrounds whereas the Tri-State Gas Engine summer show in August runs on the east side, which is a much bigger area. According to Al Confer, past president of the club, 1,500 to1,800 people went through the gates for the swap meet this year.

As always, I had fun meeting up with so many of the advertisers from Farm Collector and Gas Engine Magazine, and all the good people of the hobby. A fairly new restaurant in Portland that is advertising in Gas Engine Magazine and offers a special discount to you folks who visit them during the swap meet and/or the show is Buffalo Wings and Rings. Go enjoy their great food and atmosphere after you have strolled the aisles for old iron, and clip out their coupons in Gas Engine Magazine for an extra savings.

An observation I’ve made regarding antique tractor and engine swap meets and shows. No lines at the ladies rooms! Just one of the perks! Another observation: there are literally hundreds of unique modes of transportation used to get through the aisles of iron, manuals, signs, parts, tires, engines and a lot of “What Is It” pieces. The creativity is something to be in awe of sometimes!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am working on making some short videos of some of the vendors and this time I filmed Dwayne Hansford of Rustic Red Acres of Edinburgh, Ind. You can view the video by clicking here.

Join me at the Tri-State Gas Engine Club’s summer show August 24-28 back in Portland. My next stop on the Happy Trails line is the 22^nd annual National Red Power Round Up in Albert Lea, Minn., June 23-25, 2011.

See you down the road!

The slogan this year for the National Farm Machinery Show was “We’re like Candy for Farmers”. That definitely fits for this show as well as the other tractor shows in the country. Tractors, new and old, bring a smile to our faces. Held at the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville, I mean Lu’val (you gotta say it right when you’re there!), admission is FREE. Hey, Free Candy!

According to Ellen Anderson, Kentucky Exposition Center Public Relations, this year’s show saw the fourth highest attendance total of all time! 302,424 people attended this year’s big event. It’s really amazing how many people are walking the aisles and how many trucks are in line to get in every morning. With the show and the Championship Tractor Pull, I could only imagine how much revenue the city sees that week! And I found out! The show generated a $21.5 million annual economic impact across the area.

Farmers and business owners, getting ready for the upcoming farming season, can see free seminars, innovative technology, new product launches, alternative energy and many more ideas for their business.

I snapped a few pictures of some of the booths at the show:

The Case booth

The John Deere booth

The McCormick booth

Terri at the New Holland booth

 

And I stopped in to visit with a few friends in the antique tractor world too.

 

Here’s the IH Collectors booth, of course that’s how I saw it! Since I am vertically challenged and there were so many people in the aisles, I only got the top of the booth, sorry guys!

John Harvey with Classic Tractor Fever was selling calendars and books. One of the books was his “Big Bud 747 World’s Largest Tractor” book. You can order yours from John at 1-800-888-8979.

 

I also visited with Steiner Tractor, Bates Corporation, Heritage Iron, THE Company, Drill Bit City, Great Lakes Ag Parts, Worthington Ag Parts, Rock Valley Ag Parts, Rim Guard, A & I Products and many more.

The general consensus from most people was upbeat and positive regarding sales. More people, more sales. Sounds like a good sign to me!

And if you go, there are a lot of neat tourist attractions to take in when you aren’t at the show. This year we toured the Louisville Slugger Museum. 

 

If you want to learn more about the event or see a list of exhibitors, go to www.farmmachineryshow.org.

This just got me kick-started on another year of tractor shows. I look forward to seeing you…..down the road!