What more could a John Deere enthusiast wish for than a visit to the home where Deere established his famous steel plow and a yard full of JD tractors?

This wish was fulfilled at this year’s Two-Cylinder Show, held over the July 31-Aug. 1 weekend at Grand Detour, Ill. The show is hosted by the Northeastern Illinois, Illinois Valley, Deere Valley Collectors and Northwest Illinois two-cylinder clubs. With more than 100 tractors in attendance, the shady area and historic sites lent themselves well to the show.

Famed painter Charles Freitag was on-site in the pavilion area sharing his paintings and showing how he creates his works of art. A magician also plied his trade, and there was food and fun for everyone.

Besides an array of tractors, Phyllis Johnson of Sycamore, Ill., had a collection of JD plows. Her display consisted of a John Deere Syracuse Reversible Hillside plow, a Southerner Steel Plow, a 9-inch corn plow, a steel beam stubble plow, a wooden beam stubble plow, a steel beam sod-buster plow, a 14-inch sod-breaker plow, a Prairie Queen left-handed stubble breaker plow and a Prairie Queen breaker plow.

When asked how her collection started, Phyllis said the Prairie Queen called her name because of the intricate design. “It was the pinstriping,” she shared. “That something that would be put in the ground would be that aesthetically pleasing amazed me.”

Another non-tractor JD-related item, belonging to Neil and Perrine West of Bettendorf, Iowa, was a 1917 Velie Model 28. This vehicle was made in Moline Ill., by Willard Velie, the grandson of John Deere.  An informational plaque beside the car stated: “25,000 cars and trucks were built from 1908-1928. 230 Velies are left in the world.”

The sign West compiled also noted that Velies can be found in the United States, South Africa, Sweden, Germany, Denmark, Finland, Australia, Norway and Canada. West is the seventh owner of this fine automobile.

For those looking for the unusual, they would have found it in Randy Kramer’s John Deere-themed bike. “It is a one-of-a-kind that I built. It started out as an American Iron Horse. It took me a year and a half to build it,” he said.

The bike had just come from ByronFest held in Byron, Ill., where it won first place. Kramer moved back to Illinois from Texas in 2006 and said he built the bike there. His attendance at this show and JD influence came from his best friend, Rick Treyhorn, the blacksmith at the JD site.

For those who enjoyed tools, Larry Mack’s display would have been of interest. He had a wonderful display that showed a variety of wrenches and parts and even JD New Generation tools.

Along with the variety of non-tractor items, a bevy of beautiful John Deere tractors were on-site for collectors to “ooh” and “ahh” over.  A visit to this site would not be complete without a walk through Deere’s home and the history of the self-scouring plow.

According to Lynn Timmerman of Deere and Co., “The John Deere Historic Site in Grand Detour is the original Illinois homestead of John Deere and the location where he built his first ‘self-scouring’ steel plow. The home Deere built still stands, and the Historic Site was designated a Registered National Historic Landmark by the National Park Service, and a Historic Landmark of Agricultural Engineering by the American Society of Agricultural Engineers.”

In the atmosphere of a friendly 19th century prairie village, informed tour guides provide an entertaining and educational perspective of life on the prairie. The site is open May-October. Call 815-652-4551 or visit www.johndeereattractions.com

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