69 Dawn Avenue, Piano, Illinois 60545
GOLD! WE’VE STRUCK GOLD!! Prairie Gold, that is, and of all
places, Sandwich, Illinois.
It happened on June 25-26, 1994-The call to Minneapolis-Moline
lovers went out more than a year before this date to bring their
collections to our show (Sandwich Early Day Engine Club) and BOY
did they ever! Among the exhibits were signs, flags, implements
(tractor and horse drawn), M-M wrench and tool collections, highly
detailed scale models, and of course tractors (46 in all). A 1938
model UDLX sat in front of the M-M display building. This tractor
was 20-30 years ahead of its time, with a cab to protect the driver
from foul weather and a fast road gear so it could be driven on the
road to town if necessary, just like the tractors of to day. A good
example of advanced thinking and engineering by M-M.
Literature and memorabilia were also on display in the M-M
building. A large array of M-M souvenirs were on sale by Avery
Stevens and he seemed to be doing a lot of business.
The successful assembly of this M-M display was largely due to
the efforts of Charlie Doty of Princeton, Illinois, and his son
Dave. Charlie is a very avid fan of M-M and a true asset to the M-M
collectors of this country. I am grateful that I can call him a
good friend and also that I got to share in the glory of this
exhibit. As a generic tractor fan (M-H), I really needed
Charlie’s help on this one, and he really carried the ball for
a touchdown. THANKS, Charlie!
Now, to pass along the names of more great people! The Allison
Team from Paw Paw, Illinois; Howard Anderson, Dave Bend, Roger
Blumer, Jim Bolliger, Roy L. Book, Robert and Darrel Carr, Ben
Cavines, and Dannenberg Farms, of Sheridan, Illinois; Harlan Elson,
Tom Fitzgerald, Jay Foxworthy, Ken Funfsinn, Dale Goldman, Mark
Heiman, Don Hopper, Curtis M. Jorstad, Bruce A. Kastle, Don Miller,
Dan and Claudia Ness, Ron Riveland, Laverne Severson, Harley
Stokstad, Dan Tastad, Art Titzel (our vice president), Larry
Warrington, and Ben and Brenda Yunker.
To all who exhibited M-M and all other brands, on behalf of the
Club I wish to express our deepest appreciation for your
participation and hope to see you again this year in June. We will
be featuring another generic line, the Oliver family. Please come
and see us. We love them all!
