Many collectors hold onto those tractors with sentimental tugs. They place the old favorite in the barn and remember when. Sometimes the tractor is a memory of hard work; sometimes it is just tribute to youth gone by.

For Charlie Greer, president of the American Thresherman’s Assoc. (ATA), though his 1929 Farmall Regular is now considered a collectible tractor it has deep roots in his past and means more than just a lingering memory of years gone by.

Living only 10 miles outside of Pinckneyville, Ill., it was just a hop, skip and jump from the ATA show, but still a massive undertaking to haul 21 of the tractors the Greers own to the show, which is a family tradition. Charlie, his wife, Mary, and sons Brian and Gaylen have amassed more than 100 tractors that Charlie says “are put together.”

Among them are rare tractors such as a 1918 Huber and an I-244 Massey military tractor that was used in Iran to build airstrips during the early 1960s. The Farmall Regular, however, has a family connection – this tractor was handed down through the family from his grandfather to his mother, and now belongs to Charlie.
This tractor wasn’t just a keepsake; it was what kept the family going through hard times.

“This tractor belonged to my grandfather, Charles Bahre. This 1929 Farmall Regular is the first tractor my grandfather owned,” Charlie explained. “He bought it used from John Winters. I’ve run this tractor since the second grade in a field by myself.”

Bahre’s tractor came to the Greer household after a tragic accident that left his mother with five children to care for. “My dad, Russell, was killed in a coal mine accident. He was only 39 and I was only six years old,” Charlie said.

The tractor seemed to be just the right size for the kids to use. “Grandpa gave us this tractor,” he explained. “They thought I couldn’t handle the McCormick-Deering 10-20. Mom raised five kids using this tractor. We were only 14, 12, 10, eight and, at six, I was the youngest.”

The Farmall Regular is in original condition. It may not have garnered the attention the rare Samson and military Massey I-244 did; however, the Farmall, in Charlie’s opinion, wins hands down when it comes to a tractor with heart.

The Greers have been coming to the ATA since its inception. Charlie said the show got its name from a magazine that went out of business. Always held the third week in August, he said, “Next year will be our 50th.”

The show was organized in March 1959. Charlie’s only missed one show during his lifetime – “When Uncle Sam called me up” for service in Vietnam. Other than that, this is a family event not to be missed.

To find out more about next year’s event, log onto www.americanthresher man.com or for details, contact Charlie at 3708 Wolverine Rd., Pinckneyville, IL 62274, call 618-357-3241 or e-mail him at cmgreer@earthlink.net

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