URBANA, Ill. — Chris Karr is a farmer and provides the public address announcements for both the I&I Tractor and Antique Club events at Penfield, Ill., and for the Half Century of Progress show. Chris is also a champion hog caller, who has appeared on Jay Leno’s show sharing his talents!

Besides farming, Chris is a farm toy collector and he brought his amazing collection to Illini Farm Toy Show’s seventh annual event. He got into toy collecting in part because of his childhood growing up on the farm: “I started combining wheat with an International Harvester 76 Clipper combine at the age of 12.”

Later in life he would remember using this machine and when he had a chance to purchase one for himself – a handmade version – he didn’t hesitate. Besides the IH brand, Chris is a bit partial to Massey Harris toys.

“My mother and father-in-law gave us a 44 Massey Special,” he shared.
This real antique tractor involved him in that hobby as well and, later, in farm toys. Chris focuses on rare and unusual toys: “I collect a combination of Arcade toys, and then I have some Hubley and Ruehl. The Ruehl are mostly Massey.

“I also have Wyandotte and Structo trucks and the Marx and Lapar metal toys; some I bought and some are from when I was a kid,” Chris explained.
His favorite wind-up toy was not a farm toy at all, but a peacock he thought was built by Marx. “The Louis Marx Company also built this Tidy Tim toy,” he said. “’Keep Your City Spick and Span, Says Tidy Tim the Clean up Man’ is written on the toy.”

Besides these, Chris had an array of John Deere and Ertl toys. While these were variations of ones he bought over the years and ones from his childhood, he also had a sentimental toy that was a one-of-a-kind, made by his father, J.C.
“Dad made me this truck and the cattle when I was four,” Chris said, showing off the toy. “The cattle were carved from two-by-fours and made by hand.”
He has another family toy that J.C. made for his grandson, Chris’s son, Jeff. The truck says “Jeff Karr” on its side.

For Chris Karr, selling toys isn’t what he does; he only displays them with one goal in mind. “The toys are important, but not as important as the people,” he said – meeting others and sharing his collection is what it is all about for this people-oriented man.

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