The Florida Flywheelers show is one that those living up north flock to each winter. It is warm, there is sunshine, flowers and lots of antique tractors – a winning combination in the middle of February. At this year’s show Cockshutt tractors were the featured brand. According to the International Cockshutt Club, the line began with tillage and seeding equipment built by James Cockshutt as early as 1877. Incorporated as Cockshutt Plow Co. in 1882, it joined forces in 1910 with Frost & Wood, which was building mostly hay and harvesting equipment. Introduction of its own tractor with the first live power take-off in 1946 made Cockshutt a full-line company. Contracts with the National Farm Machinery Cooperative resulted in its tractors being marketed in the United States as the familiar orange Co-ops. There were several cool Cockshutt tractors on display in Fort Meade, Fla., and collector Vernon G. Boelender from Circleville, Ohio, brought an array of Cockshutt memorabilia that included a toy tractor and wagon. Another collector also had memorabilia that included lighters, a letter opener and more. Memorabilia can be found everywhere. Inside the International Harvester building that is set up in one of the former IH dealerships on the show grounds, visitors can see a variety of collectibles. One neat item even includes a Farmall bowl. The show is a variety of antique tractors and flea market. There is also a village with set buildings, and in one of the buildings is a 1914 F.S. Snow Engine that came from Buffalo, N.Y. This huge machine has 400 horses and 120 RPMs. The sign near it states it is a Double Acting 4 Cylinder 4 stroke with a 20-inch bore and 36-inch stroke that is over 40,000 CI displacement. The engine runs on natural gas, has a 12-foot flywheel and weighs 12 tons. It was originally used to pump natural gas from wells to gas supply businesses. A number of tractors find their way to this show. One gentleman had a 1918 Centaur tractor on display. This steel-wheeled beauty was bare-bones and the tag showed it was built at the Central Tractor Co. in Greenwich, Ohio, and even offered information about how to start the tractor on gasoline. There was also a 1936 Ferguson Model “A,” which was also known as a Ferguson Brown. Information that accompanied this tractor stated the Ferguson “A” was designed and marketed by Harry Ferguson Ltd. and David Brown Ltd. agreed to make the tractors at its Parkworks, in Lockwood, Huddersfield, England. The A sold originally for $1,120 and the accompanying bottom plow, three-row ridger, seven-tine tiller and cultivator were priced each at $150. There were several unusual items in the village, too, like a hand-pump fire truck and a horse-drawn orchard sprayer the owner had just recently purchased from a nearby farm. There is a sawmill hooked up to a huge Prairie tractor that has a belt that runs the saw. They were cutting cypress logs and selling some of the wood during the show. Visitors enjoyed peeking into Sult’s Farm Store, the beautiful church on-site, the quilt shop, Morgan’s Trucking, the Apple Shack and so much more. Every day during the show, there is a parade and collectors drive their tractors through for visitors to see. Many visitors stand while others sit in their golf carts or homemade rides; the parade is a spectacle to see! The 2018-19 show will be Feb. 20-23, 2019, featuring IH, Case IH, Case and New Holland. Set on 374 acres, the show is located outside of Fort Meade and is hosted by the Florida Flywheelers Antique Engine Club. Visit www.floridaflywheelers.org for more information. Readers with questions or comments for Cindy Ladage may write to her in care of this publication. Learn more of Cindy’s finds and travel in her blog, “Traveling Adventures of a Farm Girl,” at http://travelingadventuresofafarmgirl.com |
