Horsepower history

Tractors are lined up Aug. 6, at the 2022 Living History Antique Equipment Association show in Franklin Grove.

JENNIFER LUBBS FOR SHAWMEDIA By Cody Cutter | Sauk Valley Media Old tractors never retire. They just get better with age. Just ask fans of the old iron. They’re dedicated to Deeres that endure, they can’t get off their Case, they keep their Oliver alive, and their Minnie-Mo can steal the show.

Some are casual collectors and some are dedicated enthusiasts, while others are just horsepower hobbyists, and then there are the farmers who are taking care of an old friend that was part of their life and livelihood. Some like to restore their rides while others keep them running, rough and ready.

They’re the people who love old tractors — and they’re not alone.

Tractor clubs are as much a part of the rural landscape as the tractors that reshaped it. They celebrate the machines that plowed the land, sowed the seeds, and harvested the crops — and like the tractors they celebrate, they come in different styles and sizes. Big clubs, little clubs, local clubs, national clubs. Some celebrate a particular tractor maker, while others welcome all makes and models. Some are strictly for tractors and some embrace antique engines too. But they all have one thing in common: An appreciation for the big wheels that keep on turning.

Club members are proud of their machines, whether they’re fully restored or as-is. They enjoy talking shop, telling tales about their tractor, and swapping stories about how they rescued it. Clubs are a place where members can enjoy the fun and fellowship of making new friends and meeting up with old ones. They host shows to share their pride with the public —both city folk and country kin — and teach them about the history and heritage of their horsepower, and maybe even cultivate some future tractor enthusiasts and club members. Some clubs host tractor rides where a parade of pride ambles along country roads. Some club events even double as fund raisers for local ag programs.

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The history of the heart of the country — where enterprising entrepreneurs planted the seeds that grew into tractor companies, and tons of tractors rolled and rumbled across the countryside carving and cultivating the land — makes the Midwest a prime location for tractor clubs. Most prominently, John Deere developed the first steel plow in 1837 in Grand Detour, a small, quiet town along the Rock River in southern Ogle County, and later brought his business to Moline, where it subsequently expanded operations all over the Quad Cities and Eastern Iowa. Moline also lends itself to the Minneapolis-Moline line, which started as the Moline Plow Company before merging with a couple of Twin Cities lines in 1929 to give it the name it’s know by today. Both International Harvester and Case established their roots not far from Northwest Illinois. IH began in Chicago around the turn of the 20th century with the merger of the Deering and McCormick companies, and there was once an IH plant in Rock Falls. And the J.I. Case Co. started in Racine, Wisconsin, in 1842.

On the following pages is a list of some of the tractor clubs throughout northern Illinois, and a little beyond. The Antique Engine & Tractor Association, Henry County Mailing address: PO Box 112, Geneseo, IL 61254 Phone: 1-309-314-0783 Online: http://ae-ta.com or find Antique Engine & Tractor Association, Inc.” on Facebook

The Antique Engine & Tractor Association (AETA) began as a branch of the Early Day Gas Engine and

Tractor Association in 1959, a national organization with chapters throughout the U.S. In 1970, AETA became an independent organization and was incorporated as a non-profit organization in Illinois. The group’s goal is “To promote the collection, restoration, preservation and exhibition of gasoline and oil engines, gasoline and steam tractors, power-driven farm machinery and other equipment of historical value.” The clubs has grown through the years, boasting more than 200 members. In 2008, Bill and June

Cole of Hillsdale donated 40 acres to the group, which the group uses to hold shows. AETA’s biggest even is its annual three-day Working Farm Show, where members harvest corn and beans with mid-1900’s equipment, thresh oats or wheat, run a saw mill, plow, and demonstrate vintage gas engines. Hundreds of tractors, garden tractors and many gas engines are part of the show, plus other ag memorabilia. Annual shows had been in the Atkinson and Geneseo areas before moving to property where state Route 92 crosses the Rock River near Joslin between Geneseo and Hillsdale. The group supports local FFA chapters’ tractor restoration projects and hosts events for children and youth at its annual show. 2023’s show is scheduled for Sept. 15-17. The club also has a young collectors group for club members’ children. Living History Antique Equipment Association, Franklin Grove Online: lhaea.org, myneatmms@yahoo.com

The Living History Antique Equipment Association has put on shows for 42 years, with the most recent one Aug. 6 and 7, a half-mile south of Franklin Grove on Whitney Road. Among the show’s attractions, a fleet of Minneapolis-Moline tractors and equipment. The annual show also includes demonstrations, parades, straw scrambles and a petting zoo. The club is operated by a five-person board of directors with a president, vice president, secretary and treasurer.

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Indian Valley Antique Club, Princeton Online: facebook.com/indianvalley.antiqueclub.1

Indian Valley Antique Club’s annual show is held in July, two miles south of Princeton. According to its Facebook page, the club is an organization that is “resurrecting the past, for the future.” Club meetings, typically at the end of each month, are announced on its Facebook page. International Harvester Collectors Club Chapter No. 2 of Northern Illinois, Oswego Mailing address: P.O. Box 445, Oswego, IL 60543 Phone: 630-816-0604 Online: nationalihcollectors.com and on Facebook

The northern Illinois chapter is headquartered in

Oswego, and there are 43 others throughout the nation, and one more in Great Britain. The central Illinois chapter is out of St. Joseph, and a southern Illinois one is based in Pickneyville. The club began in 1990 and has more than 7,000 members. Its purpose, according to its website is “to establish the International

Harvester Collectors as an identity to which collectors of IH products can relate: promote IH collecting, restoration and show displays through communication among members; help preserve, research and

complete the history of the IH company.” The club’s major events are a national auction in November, a winter convention, and a Red Power Roundup in June. Stephenson County Antique Engine Club, Freeport Online: Facebook, www.thefreeportshow.com

The not-for-profit educational organization helps preserve both farming and transportation heritage through several events throughout the year. The club puts on a threshing show each year (its most recent show was Aug. 6 and 7). The club also operates an antique railroad engine and cars that run on an old right-of-way, and houses a 130-ton

Cooper Corliss steam engine, which is one of the largest flywheel engines in the nation, near the Silver Creek Museum, 2954 S. Walnut Road, Freeport. McHenry County Farm Equipment Association of Illinois, Union Online: Facebook, mchenrycfb.org/mcfb-friends/ mcafeai

Formed in 1999, the McHenry County Farm Equipment Association of Illinois is made up of tractor enthusiasts within the county. The club shows tractors at annual festivals such as the McHenry

County Fair, Harvard Milk Days, the Sycamore

Steam Show, the Huntley Farmers Market, the Harvest Fest at Woodstock Square, the Tractors for

Charity show in McHenry, and the Cody’s Farm and

Orchard Market Fall Festival in Marengo. Deer Valley Collectors Online: Facebook, deervalleycollectors.com

According to its website, the Deer Valley Collectors club “provide[s] information, services and a forum of fellowship for its members in support of their common interest in the preservation and collection of tractors, equipment, and memorabilia of the bygone era.” The club began in 1991 as the Fatherland Deere Collectors.

It hosts the Gathering of the Green each summer at the

Mississippi Valley Fair in Davenport, Iowa, as well as other Deere-related tractor events in the Quad Cities. Northwest Illinois Deer Collectors Club Online: Facebook

Like the Quad City Club, this group showcases John

Deere tractors at shows throughout northwest Illinois. Illinois Valley Two-Cylinder Club, Minonk Online: Facebook, sites.google.com/site/ilvalley2cc

Established in 1989, the Illinois Valley Two-Cylinder

Club has more than 120 families as members throughout north-central Illinois. These tractors stopped coming out of the assembly lines nearly 50 years ago, lending to their historical value.