In January of 1983, July seemed a very long ways off, but we
planned a Waterloo Boy Rally in conjunction with our town’s
125th celebration. We sent out letters to people we know and put an
ad in the GEM.
Suddenly it was June and we had to finish our farm work plus get
ready for a show of Pioneer Power plus the Waterloo Rally. It was
short nights and long days as you who have gotten ready for a show
know.
On the first of July we set up our saw mill, pony brake, shingle
mill, corn sheller, and Burr mill. Everyone worked so hard.
When the dust settled Monday night of the 4th, we had 10
Waterloo Boy tractors and 2 hand made models, models that you wish
you had! We sawed lumber, shelled corn for a very fine crowd of
people. Everyone had a good time talking about their Waterloo Boys.
One man came from California to look at Waterloo gas engines, but
there was only one, a 1 HP kerosene engine from Minneapolis that
ran very well. Hope he wasn’t too disappointed!
The weather was so very nice to us. It rained within 4 miles of
our show ground. Everyone must have gone to church the week before.
People who brought tractors came from all over; one was from
Illinois which is a long haul with a nice tractor. One man came
from southern Missouri. The rest were from Minnesota and Iowa. We
had viewers from South Dakota and North Dakota; one couple from
Ohio; a family from Pennsylvania and many more!
On Sunday we took a very nice picture with a camera that moves
in a circle so every tractor is the same distance from the
camera.
So many things were happening that we didn’t get to meet
everyone, but our local group of tractor and engine collectors did
a very good job of showing and operating the units. There was a
total of 32 tractors plus the Waterloo Boys. There were some that
you don’t see at every show. We had a model A John Deere with a
rear mounted cable loader that worked very well. There was an
over-top steer G.P. wide tread and a side arm steer, plus a very
nice display of John Deere horse machinery, all fixed up like new.
Had some nice IHC’s which included a W-30, WK40-0-14 8/16 chain
drive, a very good Regular. All of the units were in good condition
and each owner was very proud and ready to tell their own story
about their equipment. You would have had to have been there to
enjoy it to the fullest.
We are going to have a tractor show and Waterloo Boy Rally
Reunion on the July 4th weekend again in 1984!
