Except for a bit of rain, the Winamac, Ind., “Power from the Past” show went off without a hitch. For Lavon Fred, his sons Dave, Bill and Phil, daughters-in-law Julie and Debe and grandsons James and Eli, their dream of reaching a record-breaking number of Bradley Tractors at one show came true.

There were seven of the rare Bradley tractors at the Winamac show, along with 21 Graham Bradleys, which is also thought to be a record.

The show featured Sears Graham Bradley and lesser known classic tractors and equipment – oil field gas engines. This show was a big draw for the Sears group of collectors; they are all about any tractors that were sold through the Sears catalog.

Besides the Graham Bradley and Bradley tractors, a couple other Sears brands also made it to this northern, Indiana show: There were two Sears Economy tractors, along with an experimental Graham Bradley that Mark Dozier of Morrisonville, Ill., hauled to the show.

“Tractors and collectors showed up from 11 different states,” James Fred said. Those states included Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Oregon, Indiana, Iowa, South Dakota, Minnesota, Kansas and Michigan.

This show was bittersweet because of the loss of Jess Enns of Kearny, Neb. Jess headed up the Lesser Known Classics newsletter. He passed away earlier this year and the club mourned his loss. A tribute to Jess was included as part of the Saturday night banquet.
This show was the result of years of planning by Lavon Fred, who sparked the interest in antique tractors in his family.

It was his collection that inspired his sons and grandsons to get into the hobby and help him bring the tractors and Sears collection to the show to Winamac.

This year’s show also included an array of lesser known tractors, which included a Parrot tractor, a Love tractor and a few Co-Ops.
This was the 32nd year for the show, whose “functional purpose is to preserve, rejuvenate and display antique farm machinery and any other form of machinery utilized in the growth of the USA.
“Further, it is the intention of this corporation to foster and perpetuate in the minds of all Americans respect, interest and recognition of the vital role that different forms of machinery, no matter what their power source, have played in the development of our society as a whole.”

While this show is now just a fleeting memory of a quickly passing summer, think about attending next year’s show. On its website at www.winamacpowershow.com the group explains the reasons to consider coming to Winamac: “This show is much more than a gathering of gas engine and tractor enthusiasts, although those are pretty amazing when all the engines are chugging at once!
“With the passage of time, many of our younger generation have never seen or experienced farm life in its heyday. We’re creating a learning experience from this event, where the future meets the past.”

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