2821 Wilmington Road, Lebanon, Ohio 45036
Old Timers Days in Xenia, Ohio, were held September 24 through
27, 1998. The weekend temperature varied from 46 degrees in the
early morning to 90 degrees in late afternoon on Saturday and
Sunday. We had high humidity the two days, but the weather was okay
for southern Ohio. It was okay for the meeting of many people
interested in old machinery, tractors, engines, horses, mules,
donkeys and food galore.
I drove to Xenia, Ohio, a 24 mile trip, with my 1? HP John Deere
Series E engine, a 1951 LUC John Deere combine engine, and a 1979
John Deere garden tractor on Wednesday evening. I arrived at 4:00
P.M. I found over 150 tractors already present. I unloaded my John
Deeres and then began to look things over. I looked for two hours
and was really impressed. At 6:30 P.M. everybody was asked to come
to the office for homemade ice cream and cake. The Old Timers and
their wives really put on a real feed. Every single person was
invited. The food was all free to everybody.
On Thursday morning at 6:30 A.M. I met my cousin’s wife for
breakfast and then went to the fairgrounds to see all the tractors
and engines. It was really fun watching the many people unload
their favorite equipment. I was really impressed. I spent hours of
enjoyable time watching people bring their trucks, trailers and
their own specific worldly possessions to the Old Timers Show.
On Friday, September 25, I personally counted 220 tractors, 90
garden tractors, 120 engines, one shredder, three threshers, one
silo cutter, one steam engine and they were still coming in every
few minutes. Lots of people do not come in until Friday because of
their work schedule.
I talked to one gentleman by the name of Donald Kendig. He
found, at a General motors plant in Dayton, Ohio, a 1949 I-4
McCormick Deering tractor. It really is a Farmall H motor mounted
on a W-4 Chassis with a wide front end. He showed me the before
pictures. The tractor was used to haul equipment around a car
producing plant. The fenders were bent, painted red and yellow, and
pretty much worse for wear. Today the tractor was in perfect shape,
painted red, fenders fixed, new tires and the motor worked over.
The tractor was perfect. Quite a change from the time spent at a
factory in Dayton hauling heavy industrial equipment around.
All four days, Russell Luse and his crew shredded corn, filled
silo and threshed wheat. Each day somebody else would belt their
tractor to the different machines. One particular day a 1920 Huber
steam engine was used to power the thresher. One display that was
great, the shredder shredded the corn, the corn then went to a
sheller. The shelled corn then went to a grinder, and the cobs went
to another grinder to grind the cob. Each machine was belted to a
tractor. Everyone was interested in the power display. The belts
were going everywhere. OSHA would have loved it!!! A yellow ribbon
surrounded the display for safety reasons.
Bill Finkbone had his portable saw mill working all three days.
Each day a different tractor was used to saw the wood. The person
supplying the trees got his wood sawed into one-by-fours and other
appropriate sizes. A rather large pile of lumber was piled in neat
piles by the end of the three days.
From Wednesday through Sunday evening the ice cream crew was
busy making homemade ice cream in five gallon makers. Each ice
cream maker was powered by a small gas engine. It was really neat
to see people watching ice cream being made.
The Old Timers had a horse, mule and donkey show on Friday,
Saturday and Sunday. They were busy each day working and showing
their animals. It was fun to see the animals perform. They were
great.
The flea market and craft show was well represented. The
fairgrounds was crawling with people looking at the various crafts
and items or sale. There was something for everybody.
The feature attraction was International Harvester tractors and
engines. I believe I found 105 International, McCormick-Deering and
Farmall tractors. The engine crew had a 10 HP single cylinder
engine on display I believe it was built in 1910-11 era. Several
more single cylinder engines were present, such as LA, LB, M,
Famous, Titans, and Moguls. All the engines were running nearly the
entire show. The 10 horsepower International single cylinder engine
was started everyday. The engine ran perfectly and was in great
shape. One Mogul engine was on display by itself. The engine was
perfect and could barely be heard as it smoothly ran.
John Deere tractors were the most numerous. From the huge 730 to
a small BR John Deere was present. I believe every tractor make was
present. I know the following were represented: Allis Chalmers,
Avery, Cockshutt, Oliver, John Deere, Ford, Massey-Harris,
Massey-Ferguson, Farmall, International Harvester,
McCormick-Deering, Caterpillar, Minneapolis-Moline, Case, Ferguson,
Huber. If I left some out I am sorry, but I think my inventory is
accurate. Over 300 tractors were finally shown at the show.
In a special tent were some valuable displays. A 1916
International tractor was on display, along with pedal tractors,
model tractors made of wood, a working steam display, buggies and a
horse-drawn sleigh.
The garden tractor display was well-represented. Over 145
tractors, rototillers and other small items were shown. One
gentleman had a great display of John Deere patio tractors in
original colors. They all ran to perfection in their restored
painted condition.
Bigger is not always better, but the Old Timers had the largest
display of so many different attractions that I believe nobody
could go away discouraged. The cost was $2.00 and Friday was senior
citizen day for half-price or $1.00.
If you are in southern Ohio the last weekend of September of
1999, please come to Xenia, Ohio, Greene County Fairgrounds and you
will be impressed.
