By Cindy Ladage

PERRY, Ga. – This was the 3rd year for the Georgia National Antique Ag Show in Perry at the Georgia National Fairgrounds and Agri Center on Nov.11-13, 2021.

Set up with the Appalachia Mountain Region Chapter 43 out of Hendersonville, N.C., a group had set up a teaching Farmall Cutaway Cub. They created the display to help kids and tractor enthusiasts learn about tractors and farming. Chapter 43 created this exhibit because they wanted to preserve agricultural history and this Cutaway Cub was a way to do it.

The group first learned about the tractor at the Florida Flywheelers antique tractor and engine show, where club member James Dickson said they saw one. The Cutaway Cub there came out of a technical college and is on display in an International Harvester building on the Florida Flywheelers grounds at the show. “Originally 13 of these were built for colleges. We wanted to build one,” he added.

This is not one of the older original cutaway Cubs, but rather one made by the Appalachia Mountain region Chapter 43.  The tractor was donated by Dale Green. The group started with a 1951 offset Culti Vision Farmall Cub. “We created it ourselves. We cut out the housing and tore it down,” club member Jerry Merrill added. “We created this like the ones in the technical schools. The more we did, the more we decided we could do.”

Online, there is a fascinating documentary showing the makeover of this 1951 McCormick Farmall Cub Tractor by the International Harvester Collectors Club:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQvJHaJ-VZc. The tractor video also explains what a tractor is and how they work, which is a great teaching tool.

The tractor is shown running, but off the ground and not moving when they set it up. The valves have been color coded for a better understanding of what is going on. The members showed where everything is so kids could learn. “We show where the intake is for kids, so kids could recognize the exhaust. It has lights, when the piston fires, a light comes on.”

While most of the Cutaway Cub is original, Merrill said that they raised the hood six inches so you could see what is going on underneath. 

The Cub needed a gear reduction, and the motor fans are now turning. The cutaway sections of the tractor can be clearly seen and items like the radiator, air cleaner and head are labeled. To catch the kid’s attention, they also have one of the Bear Cub cutouts that were used for advertising back when as well.

The little teaching Cutaway Cub has been hitting the road after being used formerly in a grammar school as a teaching tool. Merrill was one of the Chapter 43 representatives at the show. “We have been to Tennessee and Georgia,” he said. “We have used the Cutaway Cub for teaching at TC Henderson.”

Besides serving as a club member, we noticed fellow member James Dickson, was an Air Force veteran who served in Anchorage, Alaska.