The Southern Illinois International Harvester (IH) Collectors rolled out the red carpet for toy collectors the first weekend in January. The club held one of the first toy shows of the new year at Carlyle Lake. Although not a huge show, the crowd was there and the toys were, too.

Tom Leuctemeyer of Belleville was at the show as well. “The weather was good today, so I thought I would come out,” he said.
Besides the normal toys one sees at a toy show, there were a few items collectors just don’t generally see – one of which was Niles Sharp’s Clod Hopper toy tractor. “This was a generic tractor made by the Ogelsby Mfg. Co. plant in Peru, Indiana,” Niles shared.
Besides the Clod Hopper built by this virtually unheard-of company, Niles also had a cement mixer. Although his Ogelsby items were not for sale, Niles had an array of neat items, like a Massey-Harris straw hat and two porcelain IH Triple Diamond signs.

My husband, Keith, bought one and had not driven very far down the road when he turned around and came back to buy the other one for his friend Dan Shima. After bragging about his find to Dan, it wasn’t long before Dan convinced Keith to purchase the other for him.

Dan is essentially a Minneapolis-Moline collector, but likes signs in good shape of almost any tractor brand.

Roy Lee Baker was at the show with his wife, Audrey. Roy Lee’s flathead engine was on display among his toys for sale. Geneva and Paul Quirk had a few unusual Massey-Ferguson coin sets labeled “A Bicentennial Tribute to the American Farm Producer.” The coins in the set included Thomas Jefferson, Luther Burbank, Eli Whitney and “The American Farmer 1976.”

Jefferson was honored because he was called the “Farmer President of the United States.” He is quoted as saying that he was dedicated to the idea that “those who labor in the earth are the chosen people of God.” He also promoted farmers as landowners. Whitney was honored, obviously, for his cotton gin.

Burbank was included because of his development of new strains and species of trees, fruits, vegetables and grains. In the documentation with the coin set, it states: “His efforts in selecting one specimen from several hundred thousand for further development, and crossing two plants to develop a superior species, resulted in the technology which made possible the vastly improved yields and durability of today’s corn, bean and grain crops.”

This was written 30 years ago, long before current genetic technology existed; it makes one wonder, what would this author say today?

The last tribute was to the American Farmer for all the progress they had made to “help to feed a hungry world.”

The toy show lasted Saturday and Sunday and collectors were seen carrying a variety of items out to their trucks and cars. The fog on Saturday was a mixed blessing, bringing warmer temperatures but also bad visibility; Sunday dawned clear but cool.

Toy collectors went home happy they had the chance to hit a show, and prepared for the next big one coming down the pike.

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