CEDAR VALLEY SHOW

Secretary, 613 8th Ave., Charles City, Iowa 50616

The Cedar Valley Engine Club of Charles City, Iowa had a very
good Thresher’s Reunion over the 1974 Labor-Day Weekend. The
show was held at their Show Grounds located 7 miles West of Charles
City on Highway 14. The show is a three day event, commencing on
the Saturday before Labor Day and running through Labor Day. It is
an annual event. This past year one of our members took a survey of
the cars in the parking lot. There were cars from either 33 Iowa
counties, 8 states and one from Canada. The main events are sawing
lumber, threshing oats, shingle sawing, Baker Fan, corn shelling,
along with other attractions.

We had ten steam engines this past year. They included Case,
Port Huron, Minneapolis and one of the largest Nichols-Shepard
two-cylinder ever built. Also a scale model Case steamer. We
usually have about 50 gas tractors, one of which is a 30-60 Hart
Parr that was built here in Charles City in 1913 and is owned by
the Management Club of White Farm Equipment Co. We are getting
together with White Farm Equipment Co. and hope to start
celebrating 75 years of building tractors here in Charles City this
coming year. The first farm tractor was built here in Charles City
in 1901 by Charles Hart and Charles Parr. They built many tractors
here. On April 1, 1929 they merged with three other companies to
form the Oliver Corp., which White now owns, and are still building
tractors on the same spot where Mr. Hart and Mr. Parr started in
the early years of the tractor. The tractors were originally known
as a Gasoline Traction Engine. A Shipping Clerk got tired of
writing so many words and one day came up with the words ‘Farm
Tractor’ so the word ‘tractor’ was coined here in
Charles City.

We have lots of rare tractors and other items not found anywhere
else. One is a 12-20 Case Tractor. This is a two cylinder opposed
engine. Also have a Moline two cylinder opposed engine and a 20-35
Avery tractor which is a rare tractor.

Also at our show we usually have somewhere between 200 and 300
of the small gasoline engines including a 15 hp Lennox.

We have many items in the barn of interest to the ladies,
including antiques. We also have a band shell where many musicians
come and play old time music that everyone enjoys while resting.
This is located near our lunch stand and there are picnic tables in
front of the band shell and all in the shade.