ALL ABOUT TRACTORS BY PAUL WALLEM Some big events are coming this summer for tractor enthusiasts. Historic Farm Days will be held July 13-16 in Penfield, Ill. This is an annual event conducted by I & I Antique Tractor and Gas Engine Club. The show will be held on the former Penfield Grade School grounds. Field demonstrations, displays, a parade and tractor pull will be on the program. Historic Farm Days highlights a different brand each year. John Deere will be featured for 2023, observing the 100th anniversary of the John Deere D tractor and E engine. All brands are welcome to come, however. A seminar on the production history of the D model will be held in the cafeteria. Organizers of the featured tractor aim for 100 John Deere D’s to be displayed. A 1925 John Deere Spoker D will be raffled July 16. This event is celebrating its 35th year. The club museum includes corn shellers, threshing machines, and more, including a 1903 Hart-Parr and the1961 International Harvester HT-341 Turbine Tractor. Penfield is 30 miles northeast of Champaign, Il. Website is www.historicfarmdays.com On Aug. 24-27, Half Century of Progress will be held at Rantoul, Ill. The Show will be held on the Old Chanute Air Force Base. It is held every other year. The first event was in 2003. The Half Century website (www.halfcenturyofprogress.com) indicates the Show is the premier vintage farm show in the US. It allows visitors to experience what farming and agriculture was like 50 years ago, with live demonstrations and large displays. Operators can bring their plow, combine or picker to display and also operate in the field for limited times. Display tractors are welcome and need to be registered. A huge US flag will again be waving at the parade route. It measures 120 by 65 feet and weighs 200 pounds. During my past visits I have always looked at it in awe, due to its size and what it signifies. After ending production in the late 90’s, the world’s largest tractor Big Bud is returning to production and will be on display at this year’s Half Century Show. It will feature a Cat 18 liter engine at 640 up to 760 horsepower. A Century of Farmalls will also be featured at this year’s event. The 100th anniversary of the Farmall brand of IH tractors will provide visitors with lots of red. Chapter 10 of International Harvester Collectors Club is arranging for a display of one of every year from 1923 to 2023. The Farmall Regular was the industry’s first row-crop tractor, and different models carried that name up till1985. CaseIH has now renewed the use of the Farmall name on some current models. The Farm Progress show will be held Aug. 29-31 in Decatur, Ill. Field demonstrations occur daily on 300 acres of corn. On the Monday prior to this year’s Farm Progress Show opening, a “red only” tractor ride will leave Farmer City, Illinois Monday August 28 en route to the Farm Progress Show site at Decatur, Illinois. It will be led by Max Armstrong, one of the Half Century founders. Max has headed over 25 tractor rides since the first ones occurred in the late ‘nineties in Iowa. Website is www.farmprogressshow.com I’ve attended two Penfield events, three at Rantoul Half-Century and about eighteen Farm Progress Shows. Here are personal observations regarding all three: Historic Farm Days and Half Century of Progress have a lot in common. Both celebrate earlier days of farming. Exhibitors bring in older equipment from all over the country. These two shows are loaded with nostalgia. Some exhibitors searched for many years to locate the tractor they had first driven on the family farm. Some have restored the equipment to better than new condition. Others bring equipment that still is in “working clothes.” Both Penfield and Rantoul Shows are entirely planned and conducted by volunteers. Some serve on the committees for both. The dedication they bring to put on these shows is amazing. Farm Progress Shows are funded by corporations that build and/or sell the equipment. The theme is entirely modern. The very latest technology is on display. The attendance is huge, and Wednesday seems to traditionally be the largest attendance. All three shows have certain things in common: Good food, well organized parking, medical on call, and helpful volunteers providing information. You should pack up your camper and go to all three! Paul Wallem was raised on Illinois dairy farm. He spent 13 years with corporate IH in domestic and foreign assignments. He resigned to own and operate two IH dealerships. He is the author of THE BREAKUP of IH and SUCCESSES & INDUSTRY FIRSTS of IH. See all his books on www:Paul Wallem.com. e-mail your comments to pwallem@aol.com |
