ALL ABOUT TRACTORS

By PAUL WALLEM 

 These are significant events in some European and American communities at Christmas time.

Incredible effort goes into some of the entries, even with lighted reindeer out front of the tractor and Santa Claus coming along behind – everything covered with Christmas lights.

The Lebbeke, Belgium, Parade is a large, annual event near Brussels, typically with over 50 tractors of all makes, European and American. Other parades occur nationwide at Putte, Budingen, Bertram and more.

The annual Christmas tractor parade in Menagh, Ireland, draws huge crowds and usually has over 100 entries.

The annual Linesville, Pa., event is advertised as “The Largest in the U.S.A. Their Christmas tractor parade drew 120 participants last year. Greenwich, Conn., holds similar events, and 2022 was their tenth.

You can watch videos of these parades on YouTube. The ingenuity of some entries is outstanding. Typically, the videos are short, under 15 minutes, and at Christmas, your family might really enjoy watching them.

The magic of toy tractors

There’s something extraordinary about a toy tractor, especially if it’s the same model you grew up around. I have a model 10-20 McCormick Deering here in my office. The farm toy business is huge. Some now sell for $250 or more.

Brett Berghorn, of Walworth, Wis., is a collector.

Serious collectors like Berghorn can best explain their passion for toy tractors and implements. “When I reflect back, my fondness for farming was greatly influenced by my early years when I played make-believe farming. I was a true carpet farmer!”

Berghorn has a red and green collection. His green and yellow tractors are the largest of his collection, numbering over 400. At age 7, he drove his first tractor, a J.D. with a loader. Other colors are in the minority. His four-wheel drive collection is all colors and all four-wheel drive.

As a kid, he would jump off the school bus and look at his uncle’s toy collection. That curiosity became a passion and soon became a dedicated hobby.

He enjoys restoring toy tractors. He found a 1/16 International 1456 basket case at a flea market and tells this story: “I completely restored the tractor, including additional outside rear wheels, new tires, and chrome exhaust. I repainted it and applied new details.”

Another project is his Ford 1/12 scale die-cast Model 961, which was restored. His collection includes a rare John Deere Model D, a sand-cast model with a spoked flywheel.

Berghorn said his family has been able to coexist with the toys in their home. Then he said, “They may have to take up residence elsewhere if the collection continues to grow.”

Collector Tom Steffensmeier is from Dyersville, Iowa.

Steffensmeier is a serious collector who calls his town, “The wheelhouse of farm toys.” Scale Models, Ertl (now TOMY) and SpecCast all maintain offices in the community.

Sentimental favorites started his collection - and it kept growing. He has 3,000 1/64 scale models, as they occupy less shelf space. His second choice is a 1/16 scale and number over 300 on his shelves.

The remaining part of his collection (200-plus) includes combines, corn pickers, implements, and trucks. A rainbow of different colored brands makes up his collection, including an Allis D-17 just like he drove at age 7. He said once he started driving the real thing, the toys didn’t get his attention back then.

But over 40 years ago, he began collecting and has never stopped. He avoids buying online, preferring to examine each item before buying it. A lot of time is spent at toy shows.

E.R.B.’s Coleman Museum is in Sugarcreek, Ohio. Ed Erb has the most extensive Coleman collection in the country. Also in his museum are  Scale Model tractors and implements, all 1/8 scale.

There is no brand preference in his collection. He first acquired a 1/8 scale Farmall M in 1984 and has continued collecting to this day. Among his favorites is a trio of gold-plated tractors: an Allis Chalmers WD-45, a Farmall M, and a Farmall 806.

Erb emphasized that being a collector of 1/8 scale replicas by Scale Models can be challenging as they are highly collectible, more expensive, and difficult to find. However, he added, “They are fantastic models, hold their value – and they are truly models for the ages.”

There are other toy manufacturers and many more impressive collections throughout the country. Those above are a few examples of devoted collectors.

Collector information is courtesy of Heritage Iron Magazine.

Paul Wallem was raised on an Illinois dairy farm. He spent 13 years with corporate I.H. in domestic and foreign assignments. He resigned to own and operate two I.H. dealerships. He is the author of THE BREAKUP of I.H. & SUCCESSES AND INDUSTRY FIRSTS of I.H. See all his books on www:PaulWallem.com. Email your comments to pwallem@aol.com.