Jan. 8-9, was one of the first farm toy shows of 2011. The fifth annual Southern Illinois Farm Toy Show, hosted by Chapter 32 of the International Harvester Collectors Club (IHC), was located at Carlyle, at the Mariner Resort.
While there are several chapters of the IHC, the Southern Illinois Chapter 32 was formed Jan. 18, 2003. The club came about after a meeting in Mt. Vernon, Ill., where more than 80 people were in attendance. Now the club boasts more than 300 members.

It wasn’t long before members took on the job of hosting the annual farm toy show. This year’s show was bittersweet because one of the original vendors and organizers of the show, Abe Debation, passed away in 2010. His wife, Judy, was the contact person for the show and his memory was present even though Abe was not.

This year’s show featured IH but had many brands and a heavy focus on children’s toys, games, books and collectibles. Jim and Ingrid Kistler had an array of toys, with a few unique ones that made collectors take a second look. One of the interesting items they displayed was a Reuhl rock crusher that Ingrid said “still looks like the ones they build today.”

The Reuhl rock crusher is a 1/24-scale that Jim said was built from 1952-54 in Madison, Wis. The Kistlers have been lucky enough to find a few of these rare models over the years; Jim said this particular one came from Stanton, Mo.
Ingrid decided to let loose of a few of her Arcade and Kilgore dollhouse cast iron pieces, and several were on display along with some rare Arcade toys. Arcade toys are quite popular and this hard-to-find brand was manufactured in Freeport, Ill.

Among Ingrid’s dollhouse pieces, a special one was a miniature flatiron, which would have been used in the bigger “real” version to iron linens. While showing how the flatiron worked, one visitor stopped by and shared that she has one and still uses it to iron her sheets and linens – “There is nothing like the feel of freshly ironed sheets,” she added.

Steven Fox of Kinmundy, Ill., was set up with several customized 1/64-scale tractors and trucks that his father, Dean, had completed. Dean hails from Salem, Ill., and according to Steven, has been customizing farm toys for the past 35 or more years.

“He added the roll cages, exhaust, tires and such,” Steven explained, while nearby, a couple of young men spent quite some time debating which item to buy and take home to add to their collection.

The Chapter 32 IHC Collectors were selling raffle tickets for a Farmall Cub tractor on display outside the door to the show. Visitors were taking a gander at the tractor as they went to and fro carrying purchases to their cars and trucks.

While this toy show is past, several more are coming down the pike, so mark your calendars and plan for the winter toy season – which is now officially in full swing!

Readers with questions or comments for Cindy Ladage may write to her in care of this publication.