Annual International J. I. CASE HERITAGE EXPO

An old adage says: ‘When it rains, it pours!’ At
Kinzers, Pennsylvania, on August 20the final day of this year’s
four-day 2nd Annual International J. I. Case Heritage Exposition,
it did rain and it poured. But, what happened couldn’t detract
from what was, for most of those who participated in this event, a
totally rewarding experience. And, remarkably, the crowds of people
kept coming in the rain. In fact, persons involved in the parking
of cars reported in amazement that as the parking fields grew
soggy, people were asking for tractor assistance to pull their cars
into parking spaces

‘They saw the mud, but that didn’t stop them,’ a
member of the show committee for the hosting Rough and Tumble
Engineers’ Historical Association reported. ‘I’ve never
seen anything like it.’

The first three days of the show brought out such great and
enthusiastic crowds from all over the continent and from as far
away as Australia that it was hard to believe so many dreams could
be coming true at one time. Literally thousands of people lined the
fence around the enclosure which serves as the outdoor stage for
Kinzers’ daily ‘Pageant of Threshing’ on Wednesday,
Thursday and Friday.

Then, on that rainy Saturday, in spite of the weather, people
came to Kinzers in droves and many of them obviously were
determined to enjoy themselves no matter what. The big closing day
parade, the ‘Pageant of Threshing’ and other outside,
unsheltered events had to be cancelled; but under the Case Expo
Tent and in the many other exhibit structures on the grounds, the
crowds found protection from the weather and interesting things to
watch and talk about. At times when the rain slackened, they were
outside again, slogging through the puddles and the go to see as
much as they could see. And, there was plenty to see at this
year’s Expo:

Harry Kline of the J. I. Case Co., Racine, WI, pulls the rope to
sound an overpowering noon whistle at Kinzers. He was triggering
the 12-inch Crosby Chime Whistle, which used to do its
‘talking’ atop a Case factory building in Racine. Holding
his ears is R & T’s chairman of stationary steam, Ric
Goche-naur, who teamed with Harry and others to install the whistle
for the ’88 show.

The Case Eagle, ‘Abe, himself,’ was actually Robert
McMillan of Miami, Manitoba. Bob Lessig of Gilbertsville, PA can be
seen aboard his 1916 30 HP Case in the background.

For instance, there were 13 Case Steam engines, including a rare
1887 10-HP portable exhibited by Richard Roy of Branchville, New
York; Willis Abie’s magnificent 1912 110 from Finleyville,
Western Pennsylvania; Carl Tuttle’s 1910 30HP from Howell,
Michigan; and another distant traveler, a 75HP Case brought from
Southampton, New York, by John Degen and Roy Dunwell. It was a
sight to see Tom Gingell’s 1922 50HP from Emmitsburg, Maryland,
belted to the thresher on Thursday afternoon a scene straight out
of the farmer’s album. It was a delight to see Robert Lessig
(Gilbertsville, PA) and his whole family on hand with their 1916
50HP Case in such tip-top condition a tribute to long and hard
hours of work put into preparing this engine for exhibition at the
1988 Expo. Another Pennsylvanian, David K. Wey and of Rockwood was
there with his 1912 45 HP (its smoke-box door Eagle wears
spectacles!), while the Tuckahoe Steam and Gas Association of
Maryland’s Eastern Shore brought its recently acquired 1924 50
HP. Foundation Director Tony Wells of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, was
on hand with his beautiful 1916 65 HP; Scott Lefever of nearby
Lancaster, Pennsylvania, was ably represented by his 1913 40HP; and
Leroy Walker of Glen-rock, PA., exhibited his majestic 1914 80HP
Case.

At least 38 Case Gas tractors, some of them very rare birds,
indeed, were in the line-up. Otis Astle, past president of the
hosting Rough and Tumble Engineers’ Historical Association, a
member of the Case Heritage Foundation’s Board of Directors and
overall program director for the 1988 Reunion/Expo, certainly set a
good example by bringing his 20-40 and one of the several Model Ls
displayed at the Expo. He also brought an R Case, plus a 28-inch
Case Threshing Machine. Ronald Rolfe checked in from Schohare, New
York, with a 1917 10-20 three-wheel, while Tony Wells’ lineup
of several beautifully restored tractors was led by his 1917 15-27
and even included a magnificent 1959 900B pulling tractor. Herb
Wessel’s exhibits included a 1918 20-40 and 1929 25-45. Vern
Neitzke and ‘Sara Sue’ (his mannekin ‘friend’ who
always has the Expo crowds chuckling) brought his recently acquired
VC all the way from Grand Blanc, Michigan, and Bev Hughes came from
‘north of the border’ Ilderton, Ontario with her newly
restored RC.

This view of one side of the Case Expo exhibits proves that for
both engines and tractors, steam and gas, all roads led to Kinzers
on August 17-20 of this year.

Other Case tractors were exhibited by Titus Brubaker, III,
Brookville, Florida, a 1927 22-40; Fred Esbenshade, Quarryville,
PA., a 1926 25-45; J. Clyde Brubaker, Mountville, PA., a 1921
10-18; David H. Reed of Elkton, Maryland, a 1937 RC; Walter Z.
Martin of Lititz, PA., a CC; Charles R. Noonan of York, PA., who
brought several excellent exhibits (a 1930 L, 1950 S/orchard
tractor and a 1952 D, plus a scale model L with matching plow); Ben
Reese of Quarryville, PA., a 1953 VAS 22HP; Charles Brosius of West
Grove, PA., with another VAS; C. Everett Young of Kinzers with his
recently acquired SI/airborne military tractor; Carl Simpson of
Hockessin, DE., a 1950 SC with 1945 Case two-bottom plow; and A,
K., Kissel of Newark, DE., a DC restored by the Ag-Mechanics
Student Program at Newark and donated to the Rough and Tumble
Museum.

Also, John Railing of Holtwood, PA., an LA tractor; Edward T.
Reese, Quarryville, PA., a Case grader; Mr. and Mrs. Merrill Sheets
who came all the way from Delaware, OH., with a 1935 RC Case and an
1919 8-16 International, which was displayed in recognition of
Case’s current tie with IH; Roger Gerhart, a 1969 4WD Traction
King; Earl Mast of Parkesburg, PA., a 930 Case; Frank Golembieski
of Gettysburg, PA., a 1952 DC; Fulton Owens by of Wilmington, DE.,
a 1953 GT 25 Terratrac Crawler; Horace Mendenhall of Peach Bottom,
PA., a 1938 CC; Roland Woodward of Kennett Square, PA., 1938 CC;
and Bill Dreisbach of Kennett Square, PA., an L.

Once again at the 1988 Case Expo, George Hedtke’s boiler
from the long-extinct Case 150 HP ‘Road Locomotive’ drew a
lot of attention.

Eight Case Cars were on hand for this year’s Expo. Among
them were three which had made the trip to the first Expo at
KinzersTony Wells’ 1917 seven-passenger Touring Car; Tom and
Joan Unger’s 1912 40 ‘Doctor’s Special’ from
Lewisburg, Ohio (a gathering of Case cars is never complete unless
the Ungers are on hand!); and Don Balthaser’s 1914 35 Touring
Car from nearby Sinking Spring, PA. The five newcomers to this
year’s Expo were Ronald Rolfe’s 1912 40 Touring Car which
was converted into a truck in 1917 (he drove it the 350 miles from
Schohare, Long Island, New York, to Kinzers); Charles Hartman’s
1912 four-door Touring Car fom Elizabethtown, PA., Herb
Wessel’s recently acquired 1925 Suburban Coupe from Hampstead,
Maryland; Stan and Katy Sill’s rare (reportedly, only two in
the world) 1924 Model X Roadster brought from Rockford, Ohio, under
sponsorship of the Aeroquip Corporation; and Charles Johnson’s
1916 40 Model T, an AACA Second Place National Winner from
Alexandria, Virginia. For thousands of Expo visitors, it was the
first time they had ever seen a Case Car, much less eight of them;
and, as might be expected, these cars added a special and important
touch of interest and beauty to the show.

Russ Logan of Sunrise, FL and his 1/3-scale model of a 60 HP
Case engine is dwarfed by the full-sized 1912 110 HP Case owned by
Willis Abel of Finleyville, PA, as they both tour the show
grounds.

As usual, the scale models were a constant source of enjoyment.
Russ Logan from Sunrise, Florida, and Vem Neitzke, Grand Blanc,
Michigan, traveled miles and miles around the show grounds aboard
their 1/3-scales; and they had lots of company at this year’s
show. Stan Miner brought a 1/3 -scale from Howell, Michigan and Tom
Wilfred of Shady, N.,Y., checked in with a -scale of the 65HP Case.
The Frank Hillker family from Lakewood (near Denver), CO, brought a
whole big and beautiful model of a Canadian Farm to go with
Frank’s 1′, 2′, 3′ and 4′-scale models of the
1922 65 HP Case. Alex Zelanko of St. Catherine’s, Ontario,
exhibited a classic 1.5′-scale Case engine and matching
thresher and Bob Geiger of Geiger-town, PA., had a beautiful;
2′-scale 65 Case, while James Latta of Hope-well, Va., brought
a 1/3-scale that operates on bottled gas.

There were a couple of dozen special exhibits, including the J.
I. Case ‘Groundhog’ Thresher, brought by Harry Kline from
Racine, Wisconsin, who also exhibited two gigantic Case factory
whistles. Working with the engineers at the Rough and Tumble
Association’s stationary steam museum, Harry was all smiles
when the rare 12-inch Crosby Chime Whistle sounded of fit was a
spine-tingling event that made this year’s daily noon whistle
at Kinzers nothing short of sensational.

As was the case at last year’s Expo, Foundation Director
George Hedtke’s magnificent, one-of-a-kind boiler from the
now-extinct Case 150HP ‘Road Locomotive’ was a center of
attraction, sitting on high ground in the midst of the Expo’s
tractor display. Needless to say, George made the exhibit even more
of an attraction with his ‘live and in person’ discussions
of the early history of the J. I. Case Line of machinery and
engines. Once wound up, George Hedtke is hard to beat as an
explainer of vintage Case.

John Davidson’s display of literature and photos, brought
all the way from Bristol, Wisconsin, attracted a high level of
attention; and so did fine materials presented by Everett Young of
Kinzers and Dennis Silva of Griswold, Connecticut. Other special
exhibits in the Case Expo Tent included a piston and connecting rod
display (25-45 Case tractor) by Burgoyne J. Frank of Ellicott City,
Maryland; a farm toy display by David Brinckman of East Greenville,
PA., a Case incline photo display by Foundation Vice President
Chady Atte-berry of Blackwell, Oklahoma; a photo display on
Oklahoma Steam Engines by Foundation Director Kenneth Kelley of
Pawnee, OK., a mounted Case jigsaw by William St. John of Lincoln
University, PA., a wooden replica of an 1881 Case Steamer Smokebox
Door by Lester E. Pierce of Stan berry, Missouri; and tools from
Case machinery by John K. Kreider of New Holland, PA.

For the first time at this year’s Expo, Mini-Seminars and
Videotape Presentations on educational ag-heritage subjects were
offered. Although some of the program had to be curtailed because
of problems with the gas generator/electrical system, the
presentations that did go on were both well attended and well
received. Special thanks are due the following Foundation members
for their participation as lecturers: George Hedtke (The 150HP Case
Road Locomotive and Other Legends), Neil Heesacker and Tony Wells
(Tractor restoration), Joe Ertl of Scale Models (Farm Toy History
and Collecting), Everett Young (Lancaster County and Pennsylvania
Ag-Heritage) and Chady Atteberry (The Case Steam Engine
Incline).

On Saturday evening, the Foundation held its annual membership
meeting, a banquet attended by almost 200 persons. Tony Wells and
Kenneth Kelley were reelected to new four-year terms on the
Foundation’s 11-member Board of Directors; and Rick James,
Public Relations Manager for the J. I. Case Company presented
awards to exhibitors traveling the greatest distance to this
year’s Expo.

Following the banquet, the directors met and elected Thomas G.
Lee of Calhoun, Kentucky, as Foundation president succeeding James
Briden of Fargo, North Dakota, who had served as the
organization’s charter president and prior to that headed the
steering committee which led to the formation of the Foundation in
the spring of 1989. Jim Briden continues to serve as a Foundation
director. The board reelected Chady Atteberry as vice president and
Helen Case Brigham of Silver Spring, Maryland, as
secretary-treasurer. By the close of the 1988 Expo at Kinzers, the
Case Heritage Foundation had almost 1,500 voting members. Major
additions to the membership rolls occurred during the Expo and at
other shows where the Foundation was represented this summer in the
United States and Canada.

Mrs. Bev Hughes, at the wheel of her recently restored RC, came
all the way from Ilderton, Ontario. Her husband, also named Bev,
and a J. D. collector, rides the tow bar.

An unexpected participant at this year’s Expo was the Case
Eagle ‘Abe, Himself’ up close and in full feather. He came
all the way from Manitoba, Canada, and was actually Foundation
member Bob McMillan from Miami, MB, costumed as an Eaglistic
version of Sesame Street’s ‘Big Bird.’ He was the hit
of the show and an hilarious addition to the fun at Friday
evening’s engine and tractor games. Since next year’s Case
Heitage Expo will be held at Austin, Manitoba, Bob McMillan surely
will be in fine feather for that show, too, He’s a member of
the Case Expo coordinating committee for the hosting Manitoba
Thresher-men’s Reunion and Stampede.

The 1989 Case Expo will be held July 26-29 at the Manitoba
Agricultural Museum, located at Austin and only 80 miles west of
Winnepeg. The Manitoba Threshermen will be holding their 35th
Reunion in 1989 and already have a large resident collection of
Case engines, tractors and threshing machines at the museum.

A friendly welcome has already been posted at the main gate of
the Manitoba Agricultural Museum in Austin, MB, where the 1989
(third annual) International J. I. Case Heritage Expo will be held
next July 26-29 in conjunction with the 35th annual Manitoba
Threshermen’s Reunion and Stampede. The museum’s
coordinating committee includes: Bob McMillan, Chairman Jim Down,
Grant McEwan, Jack Beamish, Bob Anderson and Robert Beamish.

At a coordinative meeting held this summer, Jack Beamish,
Foundation director from Hamiota, Manitoba, projected that next
year’s event ‘will be the largest Case show ever held in
Canada.’ That estimate would seem to hold promise that the
Third Annual International J. I. Heritage Exposition at Austin will
definitely be a worthy sequel to 1987’s Expo #1 at Pawnee,
Oklahoma, and this year’s Expo #2 at Kinzers.

No doubt, Expo #3 at Austin, Manitoba, will be 1989’s
version of ‘The Greatest (Case) Show on Earth.’ Persons
interested in additional information about Case Heritage Foundation
Membership and the 1989 Expo should contact the Foundation’s
Secretary-Treasurer Helen Case Brigham at 204 East Melbourne
Avenue, Silver Spring, Maryland 20901, phone: (301) 587-5552.

NOTE; It’s been said, a picture is worth
1,000 words; so knowing that this summary hasn’t come close to
naming all of the exhibitors and has failed to give credit to all
of the people who worked so hard and contributed so greatly to the
success of this year’s Expo;, we’ll let some photos do the
talking. It’s just another way of saying thanks to everybody
for participating in, helping with and attending this year’s
Expo.