Lucky were the visitors to Gathering of the Green who signed up early enough to be able to take a tour of the Sindt Museum. This collection of mostly John Deere tractors acquired by the Sindt family over the years includes an array of rare green-and-yellow beauties that had the group moving from one to the next in awe.

Two buses full of Deere enthusiasts departed around 8 a.m. and, after another tour, arrived in Keystone, Iowa, in time for lunch and a tour of the beautiful museum that’s home to hundreds of antique tractors – ranging from the 1916 Waterloo Boy Model R to John Deere 4020s from the 1970s. Darold Sindt said this started out as the Fred Schneider Implement Dealership, which opened in 1937.

There are still remains of the dealership in signs and other memorabilia throughout the museum. Darold began working at the dealership in 1959: “I started a day out of high school, and started as a mechanic.”

He took the Deere business over from Fred “Fritz” in 1968, and Darold’s son Derrick said he started doing little jobs around the shop in 1972. They added onto the business with a new building that is also full of tractors, in 1973. “Derrick started here as a kid and my other son, John, worked in our dealership in Mt. Vernon,” Darold said about this family operation.

The Sindt Dealership operated until 2006 when it was bought out by P&G. Today, the Sindt Museum is huge and the family has an extensive collection. The work they have put into it is monumental.

Since this was a such a big group of collectors, for easier maneuvering in tight quarters organizers divided the visitors into two sections – part went with Darold, the other half with Derrick as they pointed out special tractors and relayed stories. “Ertl made a toy of this 4020 diesel,” Derrick said, pointing out one beautiful Deere.

Many rare tractors are part of the Sindt collection, like the 4230 low-profile that is one of only two. Derrick said they actually have owned this particular tractor twice. The first time they owned it, Deere said it had never made a low-profile tractor with that serial number, then later confirmed it had. It cost much more to buy it back the second time, Derrick quipped.

Among the collection were several LP models including a 1010, 3010 and 4010, to name a few. In fact, the Sindts have one of every 10 series that Deere made. Like the 4020, the Sindts’ 1958 8020 Serial No. 028 was also the model for a precision toy. “They built 100 of these,” Derrick said.

One cool tractor they own is a 4230 hi-crop. “I don’t know how many of these were made,” he said. “I spent most of my life in parts, but it has a creeper in it, and it is the first and only example of a creeper transmission I have seen.”

When the visitors from Gathering of the Green were there, the Sindts had just opened a new building that had been many things before becoming part of the museum. “It had been a movie theater, a meat locker and meat processing plant,” Derrick noted.

One of the neat Deere pieces on display there was a 1967 2510 Powershift, which the family had also owned twice; it was the 10th built. There was also a 630 LP standard, a Dain mower, a Deere early sickle mower and a fun Deere 4020 painted red, white and blue that the Sindts use for a parade tractor.

The family also has a 4000 gas power shift tractor that was one of only nine made. “My brother, John, bought this in Minnesota and added front weights. We kept it original,” Derrick explained.

Besides their museum, the Sindts also deal in older parts, and help those interested in procuring antique Deere materials. For those interested in touring the museum, check out their Facebook page or call Darold at 319-540-5462.

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