It has become an annual event, the gathering of collectors of Graham Bradleys and other tractors once sold in Sears & Roebuck catalogs, such as Bradley, Sears Economy and David Bradley.

This year’s show was Aug. 2-4 at the Tippecanoe Steam & Gas Power Show in West Lafayette, Ind. Besides the Graham Bradley tractors, they also featured other lesser-known brands of tractors. It included a car show, and field demonstrations of antique tractors, steam engines, gas engines, farm implements, threshing, shingle mill, sawmill, antique cars and trucks, corn shelling and blacksmithing.

Tippecanoe Steam & Gas Power Assoc., Inc. (TSGPA) is a registered not-for-profit organization dedicated to preserving antique farm machinery and equipment. Besides welcoming the National Graham Bradley show, the TSGPA also hosted the IGTPA tractor pull that Thursday evening.

The show had personnel on hand to assist visitors, and offered water and other accommodations that made the heat easier to handle. A big tent for the Graham Bradley collectors was set up dead center on the show grounds and provided ample room for the 33 tractors for this event.

“There were 23 Graham Bradley tractors, seven Sears Economy, one Bradley, one Thrifty Farmer and one Graham Paige Experimental,” Jim and Carmin Anker, show hosts, shared.

 “We had collectors from 11 states. They came from Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Ohio, South Dakota, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Louisiana, Minnesota, Michigan and Missouri. This year is also the 75th anniversary of the 1937 Graham Bradley.”

What makes the 1937 tractor so special is there were only 243 produced that year. There were seven 1937 models at this year’s National Graham Bradley Show.

A banquet brought 56 collectors to the table that Friday night to share their love of this hobby. Those lucky winners of drawings took home a lovely Graham Bradley quilt that was handcrafted by Carmin Anker and a cool one-of-a-kind wooden Graham Bradley model hand-hewn by the Ankers’ grandson.

Inside the tent, collectors brought information and collectibles that included a rare pedal tractor the Jansen family had found and purchased for Kent Jansen for Christmas last year. A set of Graham Bradley plastic toys and literature also found their way to the table for collectors to enjoy.

The West Lafayette area also offered some great tourist attractions like Adams Mill, antiquing and local eateries for visitors. The area where the show was held is quite historic – it is just a stone’s throw from the Tippecanoe Battlefield, which played a major role in American history. It was on this spot the Native Americans lost the Midwest lands they had roamed for thousands of years.

With great things to see and do at this year’s National Graham Bradley Show, memories were many and time went by too fast.

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