RANTOUL, Ill. – At the Half Century of Progress, Dan Berg and Dave Waters, sing the National Anthem in the morning as the Big Flag rises to open the show. The two have been singing the anthem, they think, for the past 12 years at the show. Because they are members of the I & I Antique Tractor and Engine Club, they are referred to as I&I Boys.

At the show, Waters not only was part of the duo that sings the National Anthem, but drove the people mover at the show, and brought his antique tractor as well.  He and his sons Lee and Lyle brought their 1961 Minneapolis Moline M5 tractor to the show. The tractor was one of the Heritage Tractors, a family tractor. Heritage Tractors were the theme of this year’s Half Century and there was a nice array of tractors that fell into this category, including Dave’s.

They had a plaque that shared the family history of the 1961 MM M5. “Our farm is just south across the road from Shaff Implement Company Inc. Urbana, Ill. The tractor had been a demonstrator for a while when my father, Robert Waters, bought it in the spring of 1961.This tractor became dad’s main tractor for plowing and disking. It was even used to pull a John Deere 42 combine. In 1973, we moved on to a bigger tractor, but the M5 still had a job. It was used to pull the planter. From 1982 on, we only used it as a loader tractor. This tractor has been retired for the last 10 years, so it has mostly been sitting in a shed.”

Dave shared a bit about how the demonstrator term applied to the Minneapolis Moline M5. “It was first used as a demonstrator by Shaff Implement. They would take it out and let farmers use it. It used to have a platform where the guy from Shaff would ride along.”

The tractor is full of memories of his family and the M5. Dave recalls his father, who was in World War II and served as a medic, and then went on to teach agriculture and farmed. “Dad was in WWII, and he smoked a lot.  He would lean forward to the muffler to start and light a cigarette.  At night, the muffler glowed red.”

Despite the glowing muffler, Lyle said, “It has always run well. It has close to 10,000 hours or more.”

The family has kept the tractor pretty much original with a few updates like the propane heads. With 100 octane, Lyle said, “It is always on gas, but the heads give it more power. It’s hopped up a little.”

As a kid, Dave was in grade school and made a small modification to the M5 – a reflector on the tractor. “I got it for bicycles and put it on the tractor, it’s been there ever since.”

These days, Dave said he has been on the fence about overhauling the tractor that has so much history. “One of my friends got an original tractor and he just clear coated it.”

That power caught up with Dave one time. “I was taking it down the road at 13 mph and the rear axle broke.”

“Grandpa pulled a 5-bottom plow, to pull, it was probably too much,” Lyle added.

Things have changed so much, Dave said, “I had a 10’ wide cultimulcher and last spring did the same field it took three hours, compared to two days back then.”

Today, the Waters family farms around 1,800 acres with Dave, and sons Lee and Lyle. “Lee runs the combine, and planter and Lyle drives the semi in the fall,” Dave said.

Besides the busy farm, they also have a repair shop, Waters Repair Shop. Dave added, “We do work for other people although we are trying to cut back.” 

The family is comprised of Dave and his wife Shirley, son Lyle, his wife Cayla, their children Natalie (7) and Bob (3). Son Lee is married to Sara, and they are raising five children, Lucas (13), Ben (11), Noah (9), Maggie (5) and Elijah (2).

Dave has two sisters – one is a high school English teacher and the other an emergency room nurse. He is so appreciative of the fact that he has been able to keep the tractor in the family. “When our parents passed, they could have sold it.”

Little Bob, who is named after Dave’s father Robert, Dave said, “Loves farming.”

The MM M5 is only one of several antique tractors collected by the family. “We have an MM Z, ZA, three U’s, a GB, G900, M670, and the M5. We also have an 8N Ford that belonged to my grandpa on mom’s side,” Dave said. “When I was little, I drove it through a chicken house.”

From Robert to Dave then Lyle and Lee and their children, the M5 is now a four-generation tractor, a Heritage tractor indeed.