R. R. 4, Huntington, Indiana 46750
1977 was the year my wife and I decided on a trip to the North
Country. I was anxious again to see the farms that were so big that
every farm had to have its own torn cat. That would have to be
Montana. We left home in our pick-up and travel trailer and crossed
Illinois, Iowa, South Dakota and north through Wyoming to Sheridan.
Then to Billings, Montana. On Monday morning we attended the State
Fair and were fascinated by the exhibits of big four wheel tractors
and all the equipment that went with them. In the P.M. we went
south of town to Oscar Cook’s Dreamland Museum where we spent
the afternoon. It was simply wonderful, with 350 or more tractors
in two big steel buildings, in long rows all painted in their
original colors and ready to run. Time will not permit me to tell
all that I saw. He had an Olmstead made in Great Falls and was
probably the first four wheel tractor made and the only one left in
the country. Mr. Cook and I missed connections so 1 did not find
out where he found it. He had it on display at the State Fair where
this picture was taken. It has a 28 HP four cylinder Cliffton
vertical engine at 400 RPM. It has a 75 gallon tubular radiator
with fan in the rear. Remy magneto ignition, Detroit force feed
lubrication and Schebler carburetor. It was chain driven. Mr. Cook
had a wonderful museum of antique tractors and steam engines. Other
rare tractors were a 30-60 Titan (the only one in the U.S.) and a
35-70 Nichols and Shepard all painted up and in running order. He
also had about 25 steam engines, separators, old combines, etc.
This museum is well worth the trip, as I have never seen so much
good stuff painted up and under roof in my life.
The next day we went to see the museum of Walter Mehmke, ten
miles east of Great Falls on his ranch. A nice collection of steam
engines and tractors. Every place has something different and
that’s the way it should be. He had a square Turn tractor with
three-bottom plow made in Iowa. That is the second one of that
tractor that I have seen. He also had a Hart Parr 35 with a one
cylinder upright engine with two small wheels in front, made for
road work, but could be used for any kind of work. A very rare
tractor, and of course a nice 30-60 Hart Parr which was much used
in this country. The next stop was at the ranch of Mr. and Mrs. Ted
Worrall outside of Loma, Montana. Now we are in BIG farming
country. They don’t talk of acres here, but sections of 640
acres. This is winter wheat country here, vast acreages of it.
From Saskatoon we went to Yorkton to see another Provincial
Museum. They had the usual run of antique tractors plus a 60-90
Twin City. The only other one like it is at Rolla, Minnesota.
From there we went down through the Red River Valley to Ithasci
Lake which is the start of the Mississippi River. It was beautiful
there except it rained all the time. You can step across the river
there if you want to risk it.
Then on down to the Rollag show. They put on their usual good
show except it rained every day. Still the crowds came, rain coats
and boots, which proves to me that if you have stuff you will get
the crowd anyway.
From there we went to the 24th Reunion of the Threshers show at
Dalton, Minn. The weather cleared and they had a fine show. This is
one place where the old timers meet and visit. Plenty of threshing
and steam plowing when the weather permits. At Dalton we meet old
friends from far and wide. Gilmer Johnson from Fredic, Wis; Art
Hudachuk from West Liberty, Iowa; The Melby Bros.; Henry Johnson
and a man from Manitoba, Can. along with others too many to name.
There you will see a 30-60 Oil Pull also a 15-30 Oil Pull, a 30-60
Russell, 20-40 Minn. Universal and a 5-10 Avery, plus the usual run
seen at most shows. There were five couples from Indiana there this
year. I think the thing that makes this show so friendly is that
the people who come are rural and not so many city folks. I think
next year will be their 25th anniversary and we won’t want to
miss that.
The Worrals gave us a royal time. Took us to see historical
places and big farms. Ted has a wonderfu. collection of tractor and
steam engine catalogues and magazines and literature and is
considered quite an authority on the history of such. The land here
is black, gently rolling and produced good crops depending upon the
rainfall. This year’s crop was good but the prices were not so
good as we in the Corn Belt know. This is all wheat and a little
barley. At Worrals I saw the largest four wheel tractor I ever saw.
It was called the Big Bud. Made at Harve, only forty miles north of
their ranch. It has a 350 H.P. Cummings Diesel engine. Fuel tank
held 525 gallons and lasted two days. It pulled about anything that
moved. They had a 49 ft field cultivator behind it and did 400
acres a day. I didn’t dare tell Ted about the dinky little
stuff we farmed with in the corn belt. His double disk was thirty
six feet across as was his grain drill, but when your putting 3,000
acres in, one has to be equipped to do it on time.
Texas brags about its bigness but Mont, has it and the only
thing that blows is the wind. They were through with their harvest
and I’d be afraid to tell you the number of bushels of wheat
they have in storage on the farm. I found the price of wheat in the
same depression as in Indiana, however they do get a little more
for their hard winter wheat.
We went north into Canada through the Cypress Hill to Saskatoon,
where we visited their wonderful museum three times as large as it
was in 1970. This was our third visit to this museum. Worth the
trip any day. There we saw a 27 H.P. one cylinder vertical; Hart
Parr, and a forty H.P. two cyl vertical Hart Parr. both with two
narrow wheels in front. Made for road work but would work any
place. Very rare tractors! I had a nice visit with George Shephard
one who was largely responsible for starting the museum. At eighty
eight years of age, he is still able to come to the office every
day. I think hard winters and simple diets is what gives these
people their longevity. Its nothing to find people in their
nineties.
