15541 Klooster Road Charlevoix, Michigan 49720.
Paula Bradley and Dudley Stevens of Charlevoix, Michigan were
married there on September 12, 1992. One of the many things they
have in common is their love for old tractors. Paula’s favorite
is the Rumely, while Dudley favors the Allis-Chalmers.
Paula favors the Rumely because her parents, Bob and Pauline
Crandell of Charlevoix, own four Rumelys, Models W, X, Y and Z. She
remembers the excitement when the first Rumely came into their
life, the Model X, which her parents purchased in Wisconsin; then
the Model Y (Paula’s favorite) from Iowa; then Model W and Z
from W. O. Krumwiede of Voltaire, North Dakota. Her dad has them
all in tip-top shape except the Z, which he is still restoring. She
relates of riding in parades on the Rumely and at club shows, of
trips to New York, New Hampshire, Boston, North Dakota, Iowa,
Illinois, Wisconsin, and Winnipeg, Canada in search of Rumelys, and
the many friends they have made along the way. Paula boasts that
her parents are charter members of the Northern Michigan Antique
Fly-wheelers Club and of how hard they work for the club. Paula has
two small sons who also love tractors and love to ride on the
Rumely; they cry when Grandpa shuts the Rumely off because they
know their ride is over. Her parents’ automobile license plate
reads WXZY. Paula will tell you she loves old tractors, tractor
shows and all the people.
Dudley favors the Allis Chalmers because his parents, Bill and
Donna Stevens, also of Charlevoix, own five Allis Chalmers. He
relates how he drives an Allis in street parades and at tractor
show parades for his dad, and how excited he was each time his dad
brought home another Allis. He can tell you all about the 1925,
’26 and ’29 Model Es and the 1946 and ’48 Bs; where
they bought the 1925, ’46 and ’48 in Michigan; of their
trip to North Dakota, where they purchased the 1926 and ’29
from Ron and Jo-Ann Schliemann and what good friends they have
become with the Schliemann’s; how they have traveled to Iowa,
Nebraska, Minnesota, Montana and North Dakota looking for an Allis
and looking for parts. He will tell you how he has spent hours and
hours and hours helping his dad restore just one tractor, and how
his mother thought the first tractor his dad brought home, the 1925
Model E, was just a piece of junk and now she fights to get to the
GEM first when it comes. Dudley will tell you he’s familiar
with names like Wayne Cole of North Dakota and Lyle Wacker of
Nebraska, and all the information they gave his dad when he was
restoring his tractors. He’ll tell you his parents are members
of the Northern Michigan Antique Fly wheelers Club and the
Northwest Michigan Old Engine Threshers Club at Buckley; how hard
they work; how many friends they have; how he loves to attend these
shows; and how he plays his fiddle while his dad plays a guitar for
dances and for music around the camp. He’ll tell you he loves
old tractors, tractor shows and all the people.
When Paula and Dudley were planning their wedding, they decided
on a small wedding, just the immediate family, on the deck of his
parents’ home, with a large reception following the wedding in
Charlevoix. Why not make it unique and incorporate the Rumely and
Allis, a part of their lives, in their wedding? (Allis and Rumely
were united in 1931 when Allis Chalmers purchased Advance-Rumely
Thresher Company.) And that’s just what they did. Paula chose
the Rumely Model Y 30-50, and Dudley chose the 1925 Allis 20-35
Model E.
What a setting!! Paula in her beautiful dress, Dudley in his
tuxedo, the wedding party, the deck decorated with potted plants,
ribbons and garlands, and in the background the Allis and Rumely
(the two old work horses) resting under the large weeping willow
tree.
Guess what was on the bridal table? That’s right. A
miniature Rumely and a miniature Allis.
