The first Saturday of June, the weather was a bit tricky in the St. Louis/Waterloo area, with storms and tornados causing havoc, but that Sunday the Monroe County Fairgrounds was dry and a welcoming site to antique tractor collectors ready to get out and enjoy socialization.

This was the 21st show for the Gateway Two-Cylinder Club, and it pulled in a variety of brands. The show opened with a VFW Honor Guard to raise the flag and a rousing rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

In both the morning and afternoon tractors such as a Massey Challenger, Farmall H, John Deere 730, a cool homemade tractor, an International Harvester 806 and IH 230 and 130 were just a few to strut their stuff down the main roadway, to the enthusiastic response of onlookers.

The show also featured tractor games. In the morning, one game several enthusiasts participated in was “Chain in the Box,” where the purpose was to place a chain in a box in the shortest amount of time. The tractor drivers literally drive back and forth dragging the folded chain to fit within the space. Drivers had two chances to beat the score, to win a huge trophy.

Observers got a kick out of a father/son competition with each placing in front of the other, only to be beat out by a 19-second win by Don Moeller from Waterloo, Ill. Don took the win with his 1957 John Deere 420.

One exciting tractor on display belonged to Alois Hoffman of Carondelet, Ill. Alois bought the 1954 Fordson Major Diesel mere months ago, on April Fool’s day.

“I bought it at Ellis Grove from Davis Supply,” he said. “In 1953 when I was just nine or 10, I remember at the dealer in Columbia, that they had an open house and they were showing these tractors.

“I just had to put a muffler on it and change the oil. The tractor is a beauty; built in England, it came with a three-point hitch hooked to a three-bottom slat-mounted plow. They (the plows) were used for plowing in gumbo.”

When asked if Alois was a Ford man, he laughed and said, “Well, I have been the president of the Screaming Eagles Case Club (Case antique tractor collectors) and I just retired. I was the secretary for Southern Illinois Chapter 32’s International Harvester Collectors Club, and I’m a Massey and Ferguson collector.

“I help anybody that will pound on John Deere. I also belong to the St. Louis Toy Club,” he added.

John Meier of Waterloo had his John Deere 530 and his wife, Marie’s, JD 430 that he used as pattern for a miniature tractor for his granddaughter, Krista. “I bought a Cub IH and made it into a John Deere 430, copying it from Mama’s 430,” he said.

On the back of the model he added a gas tank that transfers more fuel to the miniature 430. The gas tank fits right into the model perfectly. Krista is a twin to sister Carrie, and she also wants a JD model G. With other grandchildren as well, John has his hands full of model creations to make.

Allis Chalmers collector Tom Luetkemeyer from Belleville, Ill., had a rare Simplicity lawn and garden mower that was a 75th anniversary edition. “Simplicity went bankrupt, then Allis Chalmers bought them,” Tom explained. “That’s how Allis Chalmers got into the lawn mower business.”

Tom, who worked for an Allis Chalmers dealer, found the little machine through a friend of a friend.

“The tractor came like this,” he pointed out, “with the lights and streamers. I’ve never seen one of these on display. There is a light in the back so you could mow at night.”

The show also featured vendors selling items, a blacksmith demonstrating his craft and other things that made collectors smile as the rain stayed at bay and everyone had a chance to enjoy a bit of tractor talk.