Getting a big antique tractor and gas engine show off the ground takes a lot of effort and many volunteers. At the Badger Steam and Gas Engine Club Show, club member Art Woodward said, “Allen Steele has done so much for this club.”

Art took a group of visitors to the show around the grounds in Baraboo, Wis., pointing out many of the things in which Allen has had a hand. One of the first stops was the new Diesel Shop that was formerly located in Sauk City.

“We tore this down,” Art said. “Allen helped with the teardown, he had the equipment, then he helped insulate and erect it.”

Next stop was the edge of the show grounds where, he said, “The club just acquired 118 acres.” Before clearing the land, the club sold off the lumber, and Allen used his D8 Caterpillar to push back the stumps for extra parking space. Allen also cleared area for an extended flea market.

Allen hails from nearby Lake Delton, Wis. During the show Art said he could be found most of the time in the area called the “sand pit” – a construction demonstration area Allen created. The “sand pit” was made with construction equipment so visitors could see antique construction equipment at work.

It made sense for Allen to be interested in this because he is an antique tractor collector who focuses on the industrial machines.

He has a family history with construction, and his own construction firm: Allen Steele Co., Inc.

“My father, Dean Steele, was a small contractor and his first machine was a Quick Way mounted on a 1947 Chevrolet,” Allen explained.

A replica of this machine is Allen’s favorite of all his equipment. The tractor he began his career with was also part of the exhibit: “When I was 20, my dad thought I should own something, so I bought an 8N Ford tractor with an ARPS half-track unit from a competitor.”

The Ford was attached to a Hop-To backhoe. “This is his baby,” Allen’s grandson, Jacob Beardsley, said.

Once he started business with the Ford 8N, Allen said the first jobs that came his way were sent by his father. As his business grew, he explained, “I got into municipal power work with water and sewer, and then plumbing cable for the power company.”

While he’s still active, these days Allen’s son, Rich, runs the business on a day-to-day basis. At the show, the Steele family was celebrating three generations in construction.

Allen’s interest in antique construction equipment and his involvement with the club is relatively new. “I started in the antique construction collecting in about 2001.”

One of the first items he acquired was the Quick Way. “I bought this for parades. This is my favorite; it is special and in most ways, is a replicate of my father’s machine when he was in business. It runs on a Farmall H engine,” Allen said.

The first year he brought his Quick Way to the show he was not a member, but just came to join the fun. “I joined the Badger Steam and Gas group and it evolved from there,” he said. “The club needed help when they put on their Endless Tracks demonstration, and they knew I understood this because it is what I do.”

Since that first involvement his collection and his time helping out at the club have escalated. Allen has cleared the area for the sand pit two years in a row; after the show they plant a cover crop on the area.

What keeps him coming back year after year is the people he has met: “It is the camaraderie, a part of being in a club.”

There is no way to estimate the importance of volunteers for antique tractor clubs that put on shows.

Without their valuable experience, time and effort, most shows would not happen. Hats off to Allen, then, and all the others who contribute to the shows – it is their efforts that keep this great hobby going!

For more details, about next year’s show, log onto www.badgersteamandgas.com

Readers with questions or comments for Cindy Ladage may write to her in care of this publication.