Chairman
The IH Collectors Club National and World wide’s 4th Annual
‘Red Power Round Up,’ and the IH Collectors, Missouri
Chapter’s 2nd Annual ‘Show Me IH,’ held at the Missouri
River Valley Steam Engine Association Show at Boonville, Missouri,
September 9-12, 1993, was billed as ‘IH Heaven.’ The
weather couldn’t have been more perfect partly cloudy with lows
in the 60s, and highs in the 80s.
Nearly ten acres were filled with over 630 IH exhibits. The IH
feature portion of the show was laid out beautifully with red and
white pennant banners, and in huge big top tents. IH tractors,
numbering around 356, were displayed by models, with the oldest
progressing to the newest. Titans, Moguls, motor cultivators, 8-16
Internationals, Regulars, F series, letter series, and finally
number series tractors.
The tractor displays included almost every model, and ended up
in a special big top tent containing the last Farmall built, the
#5488 out of the Case Museum, the earliest known experimental
Regular, the first no till planter from Purdue University, and
Tractor the IH Robot. Small and large IH engines numbering over 50
were housed in, and around another special big top tent.
Two more huge big tops housed over 20 IH vendors, and over 85
smaller item IH displays, ranging from belt buckles, refrigerators,
deep freezes, hat displays, toys, pedal tractors, literature
displays, memorabilia displays, signs and other collectable IH
items too numerous to mention.
Fifty-three pieces of IH equipment graced the machinery area.
Action demonstrations with all the machines were conducted daily,
threshing, baling, corn shredding, corn shelling, etc. Numerous
restored plows, cultivators, mowers, wagon loaders, mills,
combines, loaders, disks, spreaders etc. added to the machinery
area. Of special interest were a model M, and a Super C tractor,
both with mounted corn pickers, a restored 52R combine, and a 1948
H-14 cotton picker.
IH trucks lined up out front, creating an impressive display of
65 various units, along Interstate 70. Numerous IH road rigs would
give them the ‘Toot Salute’ in passing.
The IH Collectors Club National and Worldwide operated a club
information and membership sign-up booth in the Headquarters Tent.
I understand that well over 100 new members were signed up. The
club was also represented by Hoover Promotions, which did a brisk
business selling club promotional items. The IH Collectors Missouri
Chapter operated the host show’s IH Headquarters, IH
registration area, and a Missouri Chapter promotional booth.
Twenty-seven new Missouri Chapter members were signed up.
The IH Heaven video sales of the show sold well, with nearly 600
copies on order by the end of the show. Kansas and Iowa Chapters
also had promotional booths. The Beaver Valley group from
Hookstown, Pa., handed out information on the 1994 Red Power Round
Up. The IH Special Fature Parade on Saturday lasted three solid
hours. It was incredible and the grandstands stayed full
throughout. The National and Missouri Chapter membership meetings
were both well attended. The M.R.V.S.E.A. 30th Anniversary/4th
Annual Red Power Round Up gold-plated belt buckle auction went
well, with the high set selling for $250.00, and the low set
selling for $85.00. The average across the 10 sets was $122.50.
A hand quilted IH quilt was also auctioned off for the ladies,
and brought $400.00. Show records reflect that at least 33 states,
and three foreign countries were represented at this show. Paid
gate attendance at the show was approximately 10,000, doubling
previous attendance records. Not bad for Ozark country boys,
competing against Mother Nature’s Great Floods of 1993.
Everywhere at the show you could hear folks talking, and
commenting favorably on the show. As the 4th Annual Red Power Round
Up chairman, literally hundreds of folks approached me offering
their congratulations, and expressing their total satisfaction. The
one comment heard most often was, ‘This is going to be a tough
act for the future Red Power Round Up host shows to
follow.’
All I can say to that is, #1, Thank you! and #2, Let’s all
keep the momentum going, and the adrenaline flowing for our beloved
IH. Let’s do it all again. I hope to see you all at the IH
Collectors 1994 Winter Convention at Elgin, Illinois, March 4-6,
1994, and at the 5th Annual Red Power Round Up at the Beaver Valley
Antique Show in Hookstown, Pa., September 16-18, 1994.
By the way, the IH Collectors Missouri Chapter will be doing all
this again next year (on slightly smaller scale) at their 3rd
annual ‘Show Me IH,’ to be held at the Macon County
Flywheel & Collectibles Show at Macon, Missouri, July 28-31,
1994. You all come now, you’re sure invited!
