By CINDY LADAGE
Illinois Correspondent

WAVERLY, Ill. — Antique tractor enthusiasts and farmers finished with spring planting lined the square on May 19 in Waverly for the Lion’s Club tractor show.

Several varieties of tractors were on display with just one post 1960 era model, an International Harvester 1256, which belonged to central Illinois farmer Don Hermes. Hermes admitted he had wanted to own one since the tractor rolled off the factory room floor in 1968.

“I wanted a 1256 when it was new,” said Hermes. “I had a close neighbor that had one. He made everyone else look bad.”
Hermes finally found his tractor at a consignment auction.

“I liked it, but it should have been at a salvage yard,” he remembered.

According to Hermes, the1256 looked bad, but was mechanically sound.

“There was nothing wrong with the motor or the TA,” he said. “I just sanded it down and painted it and fixed a few oil leaks. I was amazed it didn’t need much more than that.”

In addition to Herme’s classic IH tractor, Jerry Rawlings of Waverly also brought in a vintage IH tractor for display at the show.

Rawlings drove in an IH H, but with a twist. While the body is of an ordinary H tractor, the engine is not.

“I bought the H at Scottville, but I bought the engine in a 435 JD tractor in Kansas, said Rawlings, a retired engineer and machinist.

“They gave me a spare and I put it in the H.

“I had all kinds of problems with the engine,” he said, when he discovered a surprise crack on the inside of the block.
If not for that, Rawlings said the restoration would have been finished much sooner.

“I bought the tractor in February and I would have had it done in a few weeks if it wasn’t for the engine trouble,” he admitted. “I found another block in South Indiana. It came out all right. This one is a 253 Detroit engine out of a John Deere 435.

Once I got the block, it went together really well. I had a lot of good help in Merle and Duane Stone.”

The Stone brothers are antique tractor enthusiasts that repair and restore tractors at a former IH Prototype building in Waverly.
Along with the IH tractors, there was also a splash of John Deere green color at the event. Brothers and retired farmers Gerald and Ron Carney of Virden, Ill., brought two antique John Deere tractors to the show.

Gerald drove his JD 830 tractor from Virden about thirteen miles and Ron brought his JD B and JD 50 as well.

“I bought the 1959 JD 830 at a farm sale six miles east of Princeton, Ill.” Gerald said. “It was a cold February day and it never got above ten (degrees) with the wind blowing 20 miles per hour.
Finally I started bidding. I think I paid so much because my hand was frozen up.”

According to the Carney brothers, the JD 830 was in good shape when Gerald bought it.

“All I had to do was polish it, said Gerald. “The old bachelor (that sold the tractor) had it painted.

Another unusual John Deere tractor at the show was brought by a member of the Prairieland Heritage Museum. Members who participate in other shows often parade their collection of vintage equipment in the Lion’s Club event.  This year, Prairieland brought a John Deere L Industrial (LI) tractor that Carl Davis of Ashland, Ill. was driving.

Davis said the John Deere LI tractor is special because it has a factory hydraulic system.

“Many of the LI’s were used for state highway departments to mow and do stuff,” he recalled.

Owners of the LI tractor, the Prairieland Heritage Land Museum Institute also hosts a show each year. At this year’s show, they will feature Ford-Fordson tractors. The event also showcases horse and steam demonstrations, including plowing, threshing, baling, grinding and molasses production.