PINCKNEYVILLE, Ill. – Antique tractor shows depend on volunteers to make them happen. Thank you to the volunteers that take the time to maintain the show grounds, repair the buildings, mow the grass, advertise for the shows and do all the things required for antique tractor collectors to attend an event. This same dedication is required for tractor drives and toy shows.

Annie Jansen, of Sigel, Ill., helps at the American Thresherman’s Show in Pinckneyville each year. Her family is very involved in the show and several family members camp and work at the show. Jansen’s job is to run the change and supplies to people working at the gates. The Thresherman show has a fall festival as well as the big event in August. Jansen said about volunteering, “I enjoy volunteering at the American Thresherman’s Show in Pinckneyville. I get to meet interesting people and some really terrific kids each year on the job.”

Many of the shows also have events like tractor pulls that need volunteers to run them. Randall Kesslering a lawn and garden collector who specializes in David Bradley, said, “I recently volunteered at a tractor pull. There were sanctioned classes and ‘local’ classes. I was responsible for running scales to weigh the local classes.”

He added a little humor with his volunteer story. “The ‘best story’ of the day I heard was, “I don’t need to weigh, we weighed last night when we dropped the tractors off at the pulling site….”

There are so many ways that volunteers help out, from the day-to-day operation during the show volunteering that Jansen does, to the event assist that Kesslering talked about, to support in the way of encouraging others to come to shows through a publication like Rich Shaw, who recently authored his first fiction book, New Perspectives. Shaw said, “Volunteer work is just something I do as second nature. I’m proud to have founded the Antique Iron Mafia, which has a membership roster of MANY volunteers.”

Antique Iron Mafia is a group of collectors that are members on Facebook. Shaw and others keep collectors abreast of shows that are coming, and Shaw also has a blog, Antique Iron Media. Through the group, Shaw said that they do an array of things, “From helping do anything needed at a tractor pull or show our group always steps up. Jessica Basford, and Chris Roach are worth mentioning. Their hard works sees that the Pawnee Prairie Days show goes well. This year the show host honored me with a plaque. I may have been the one that accepted it but the whole Antique Iron Mafia earned it.”

The show, Vintage Farm Equipment, in Atkinson, Ill., is run by Dave Carton and other volunteers that assist him. At the show there is the Atkinson Township Museum as well as the Atkinson Township Historical Museum. Both museum and the show are in the Atkinson Township Park. So, in this case the township is volunteering its property, along with the association. This past year a few key members passed, so Carton is actively seeking assistance in the new year. Besides his own show, he also helps with five other shows, and people from those shows often comes to help Carton at his show. “If we work together, we have grown together,” he added.

So, at this show visitors see not only equipment, but also a bit of museum history as well. “It is very gratifying to have our own show and have people come back every year and meet new friends.”

With gas prices and hotels prices up, it takes a love of old iron for a collector to load up equipment and drive, stay, unload, and show his or her tractor, implement, or treasured toy or memorabilia. So, thanks to all those that did that this year, because without the exhibits, the shows would have nothing to see. The shows are a combination of volunteers working to bring about the show, and the collectors themselves bringing their equipment to the shows. There are also the visitors themselves that come and pay the entry fee that helps keep the shows afloat.

Together these three cogs of the wheel make up the antique tractor/toy show industry. Hopefully the wheels will keep turning and the 2023 season will be a great one.