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| Illinois 4-H inspires tractor collecting and restoration |
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In the corner of the fairgrounds, the Northwest Illinois Two-Cylinder Collectors tent was set up at this year’s Stephenson County Antique tractor show in Freeport, Ill. Outside of the tent were a few 4-H John Deere tractors on display, along with others brought in by members of the club.
Jestin Nesemeier and Wesley Bennehoff were two of the younger members there representing 4-H. Jestin decided to show off his award-winning restoration job – this tractor, which was his second restoration project, won Grand Champion in the 4-H competition.
His first project had been a 1948 John Deere B that was displayed at the John Deere Collectors Center.
This latest tractor was a 1937 John Deere A that Jestin acquired from his cousin John Bennehoff.
“I didn’t have to pay cash for it,” he said. “I did 50 hours of baling hay. I got it a year ago; it was my 4-H project.”
The tractor was stuck when Jestin received it. The first thing he did, with the assistance of his cousin, was tear the tractor down to the housing.
Once down to bare metal, Jestin said, “we had to go looking for parts. There was a lot of searching.”
Once they found all the parts they needed, Jestin said they we did much cleanup work and sandblasting. “John had a sandblaster and we cleaned parts in the parts washer. We tapped all the bolt holes.”
Jestin and John got the tractor back together, then the sandblasted frame was all ready to paint. “The tractor was painted by a friend of mine,” Jestin said. “I started on May first, and it took about a year to get the tractor done.”
The project was done with the assistance of members of the Northwest Two Cylinder Collectors Club. John said, “We are trying to promote younger members of the club. We got hold of the 4-H Ag Restoration project. “
The tractor had been judged just two weeks prior to the Freeport show. John said when he was a kid, there were lots of things for kids to do with tractors. Nowadays, 4-H can offer the same type of opportunity. Jestin is a farm kid. “We farm 2,000 acres,” he explained. “We have a red combine and four-wheeler, but everything else is green. We also have 40 head of beef cattle.” He plans to become a JD technician.
While Jestin was the older 4-H member, his younger cousin, Wesley, was a 12-year-old who is a seventh-grader this year. He had restored a 1939 John Deere BR. “My dad got it from a friend for my 11th birthday,” Wesley said.
The tractor began as just a frame and axle. His mom, Paula, shared that Wesley’s friend wondered about his present, but that Wesley “was pretty excited that he finally had a tractor.”
First thing on the agenda for Wesley’s project was to take everything off the frame, take it apart, sandblast it and “go to eBay for a lot of parts.”
Between eBay and the Leseur Swap meet, they found most everything they needed. Once they got the parts all sandblasted and removed the mouse they found on the tractor, they scooped it out. “We painted them and put them all together,” Wesley explained.
John said it took about a year-and-a-half to complete Wesley’s tractor. “Both tractors were painted at the same time,” he added.
Wesley is already planning on his next project. He, along with Jestin, also received a Grand Champion award for the scrapbook he put together covering this project. Now that it is done, he is ready to go again. Like Jestin, he is also a farm kid who bales hay. “I like to ride a tractor; that is my favorite thing,” he said.
Wesley didn’t admit to any big interest in girls yet … but that will come soon enough. |
| 1/21/2009 |
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