With all the shows to choose from, it was bound to happen – two big shows to go to, same time. Kind of like when I was in high school, should I go cruise the town square with friends or go to the big pasture party? Hmmmm, I’ll go to both! (That usually got “that look” from my parents) So with the same enthusiasm, I decided to go to both the “green” show and the “red” show. See, no favoritism here!

First, I drove out to Springfield, Ohio, for the Ohio Two-Cylinder Eastern National John Deere Expo at the Clark County Fairgrounds, a nice place to have a show.

 As I walked in, there was a sea of green, with everything from tractors to engines, cotton pickers & trucks, implements & toys. One guy was having a ball showing off his “toy,” a remote controlled John Deere scraper he had made.

The Coke bottle demonstration was set up and always draws curious spectators.

 Regan Oswalt of Springfield, Ohio, was there with his John Deere sporting rare Prest-O-Lite gas light units. 

According to Regan, these were first marketed by Prest-O-Lite through John Deere and would have been available from the late 20s up until the mid to late 1930s. Listed in John Deere parts books, Prest-O-Lite acetylene kits were low-cost options to the KW light kit. Some of the literature he has states the kits were available for all makes and models of tractors, but he has only found literature for the GP John Deere. Really interesting. 

 The Ohio Two-Cylinder Club, Inc. and the New York State Two-Cylinder Expo Assn. take turns hosting this Expo, so next year the show will be held in Canandaigua, New York. I met a lot of old friends there and made some new ones.

 Then it was time for me to make the trek to La Porte, Indiana for the 20^th annual Red Power Round Up. That was held at the LaPorte County Fairgrounds. Again, a great place for a show, with buildings, a pioneer village and a grandstand that hosted a National Tractor Pullers Assn. pull.

Lots of black smoke and power came roaring out of the stands on Saturday when I was there. 

Every lane I walked down was filled with red machines, lined up and shined up.

Here is Max Armstrong’s Farmall and a tractor riding piggy back on an old International.

 This yellow IH made the red line up a little more colorful.

The Red Power Round Up is always a nice show to attend. Next year it will be held in June at Albert Lea, Minn.

See you down the road!

As you know, I attended the New York State Two Cylinder Expo held July 9-11. 2009.

Below is a clip from the show video, where I'm attempting to give the viewer a little overview of Farm Collector and Gas Engine Magazine. I’m no Barbara Walters or Katie Couric, so bear with me!

The Expo VII videos are now available. They have been professionally produced and contain clips from everything that was featured at the show. For info on ordering a DVD or video from the club, call 607-776-3592.

See you down the road!