Wrenching Tales by Cindy Ladage 

 

Amanda Schwartz, curator of the National Farm Toy Museum at Dyersville, Iowa, took a few minutes out of her busy schedule during the National Farm Toy Show to share some of the latest updates at the museum during 2014.

“Last night,” Amanda said of the show that took place Nov. 7-9, “we inducted Dale Swoboda and the late Jay Kobiske into the National Farm Toy Hall of Fame for 2014.”

Kobiske hailed from a farm near Waupaca, Wis., and worked for area farmers sharing his expertise. Collecting all brands, including large tractors, his plaque at the farm toy museum states: “He was a collector of sales brochures and company literature even surpassing his farm toys. He had a knack for memorizing facts and figures from many of these papers, which made him an incredible source of knowledge …”

He passed away in 2008, but is honored for being a pioneer in the farm toy hobby along with Swoboda, also a Wisconsin resident. Swoboda is known for his custom-built models and his use of scale models to help teach ag history. His plaque at the museum states: “Dale Swoboda has been a collector for over 60 years and attending shows as a dealer for over 40. He has amassed a vast collection of early agricultural toys and literature. Dale has a real affinity for the history of the real tractors and farm toys originally made in Wisconsin.”

The museum and the national show are both all about the models, whether custom, scratch-built or purchased from a manufacturer. It was the vision of those toy pioneers that catapulted the farm toy hobby to museum-worthy status.

The National Farm Toy Museum was funded in part from the sales of farm tractor models. It was established in 1986 and to help defray the costs, a fundraising campaign was put together that included introducing and selling a series of collector tractors.

The first series was a line of vintage Cockshutts. The series consisted of a three-tractor set that was produced from 1986-90. Schwartz said, “We have a new case dedicated to Mr. Leland Fritz Nebel, in his memory. He owned this facility and at the time, he took a big risk.”

In the display are three of the original tractors used to raise funds: a Black Hawk 40, a Cockshutt 40 and a Cockshutt Deluxe.

Another new feature is the display she said features donated collections. “We pull them out of the general collection, then feature them for a year.”

The museum currently has 263 display cases and around 8,500 farm toys. Besides the fall National Farm Toy Show, there is also a summer show and in June 2014 for the first time it added a farm toy layout to the roster.

The museum has added a section of the winning farm displays. This year’s winners were Kyler Cox of Shelley, Iowa, who was 12 when he built his display, which reflected 29 acres of hay. Justin Koons of Latimer won the adult model contest with his corn harvest scene.

Toy modeler Jeff Streuber, of Jewell also loaned eight pieces of his domed display of 1:16 scale John Deere and Case IH tractor and implements, with emphasis on the 32-row corn planter.

This talented modeler has been featured in Toy Farmer magazine and Schwartz said, “He plans to build a 48-row corn planter.”

Besides the opportunity to view amazing displays, the museum is also dedicated to the history of agriculture; in 2014 it added the story of the John Deere 12-A combine. “The first one wasn’t built right,” she said. “John Kaufmann worked with museum staff and did the research and donated the models.”

The display documents: “In 1939 John Deere introduced the No. 12 combine with a 6-foot cutting width. The machine was set up to cut on the right side of the tractor pulling the combine. However, the binders that are ahead of the combine were set up to cut on the right side of the tractor.

“This resulted in the windrowed crop entering the No. 12 ‘backwards,’ meaning it did not feed into the combine smoothly and thresh effectively. In 1940, the No. 12 became the No. 12A and cut on the left-hand side of the tractor, matching the binders and allowing the windrows to enter into the combine in the same direction it was cut by the binder.”

Schwartz enjoys creating new and different displays at the museum. She is excited about a new grant she said “will bring some exciting changes down the road.” For more information about the National Farm Toy Museum, log onto www.nationalfarmtoymuseum.com

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