The Dyersville Summer Farm Toy Show brought hundreds of collectors to this small Iowa town. Although the fall National Farm Toy Show is the biggie, the summer show is great – just on a smaller, quieter scale. Toy collectors come expecting to see great things.

Always looking for something new and different, when collectors spied Bernie Kluesner’s wood toys, they got excited. Bernie’s business card bears the name Bernie’s Sawdust; however, there was nothing dusty on his table, only beautifully polished wood toys.
Collectors would stop and admire, and the first words out of many mouths were: “How much is this?”

Much to their dismay, Bernie would reply, “They are not for sale, only for display.”

Bernie Kluesner is a master woodworker, although he is pretty modest and would never claim such a title. Two years ago at the Iowa State Fair, one of Bernie’s models won a blue ribbon and last year he won Best of Show.

This was the first time Bernie had set up at one of the Dyersville shows. While he said he has attended many, he had never before exhibited. He didn’t have to travel too far with his wooden wonders, just about half an hour from New Vienna, Iowa.

Bernie’s interest in woodworking began after he and his wife built a log home. “We saw a log home in Appleton, Wisconsin, and built one like it. When building the log home, I set up a table saw.
“I thought I would get rid of it when I got done,” he shared, “but I had a neighbor into woodworking and he had patterns. I saw a tractor plan and thought it would be fun, so I kept the saw.”
The first toy he built was a tractor with a loader and backhoe on it. Built from maple from school desks, Bernie continued building until he expanded into many different types of woods, such as the semi he had on display, made from 22 types of wood.

Visitors to the summer show were amazed by the details in Bernie’s work. His semi cab has a wooden engine, his fire truck had helmets ready for use by the firemen and his dump truck bed tilted!
Bernie builds most of his creations from plans, but lately he has expanded into creating his own. He designed a John Deere four-bottom plow like the one he has at home, along with a disc that is patterned after a Kewanee disc. Next, Bernie plans to attempt a corn planter.

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