The Big Case

A rare 110 HP Case Stema Engine appeared at the show this year, courtesy of the Jansen Family. The engine, formerly owned by Graham Sellers was the lead engine on the 60 bottom plow at the 2005 Half Century of Progress in Rantoul, Illinois.

If your reporters ears and memory were operating correctly, this tractor started life pulling a 16 bottom plow on the Canadian prairie, a job it held for many years. It eventually found it's way into the Northwest US powering a sawmill and other jobs. Today, the old engine lives on among people who appreciate the role these machines played.

2008 - J I Case and Silver King

J I Case and Silver King take center stage at the 2008 edition of the show at Penfield. The J I Case Collectors Association will be holding their national summer show at the show as well.

Case enthusiasts all over the country will be heading for Penfield in July to show off their prized machines, share stories with fellow Case fans, and maybe find that rare part they've been searching for. Case steam engines and threshing machines built the company that developed into a full line manufacturer. As time went by, especially following the acquisiton by Tenneco, the Case line gradually diminished to tractors and construction equipment by the time International Harvester line was incorporated after that acquisition.

Silver King tractors are the second feature this year. Silver Kings were well regarded, described by a sales manger for John Deere as "the best made, poorest sold" tractor on the market. Starting life under the Plymouth name, about 8,800 Plymouth, Silver King, and Mountain State Tractors were sold before the line disappeared into history. Oddly enough, not all Silver Kings were silver! Various shades of blue and green were used as well, and even a few red ones have been located.

So, make your travel plans, get your room reservations and head for Penfield, Illinois July 10-13 for the best antique power show there in the midwest.

In Memoriam - Paul Gehrke

Paul Henry Gehrke

May 16, 1925 - December 1, 2007

Born in Chatfield, Minnesota, Paul spent his early years on a small farm, before his family moved into town. Paul led a varied life, serving in the Merchant Marine in World War II, running a mobile feed grinding business, and eventually entering the farm machinery business as a salesman at a dealership. He later moved on to become a sales reprentative for several companies during his career, including Allis Chalmers, M&W, Stover-Winstead, and Krause Plow Company. Over the years, he serviced territories ranging from central Illinois to portions of the east coast. In 1991, he retired and moved from his then home in Columbus, Ohio to a small acreage near Armstrong, Illinois, where he delighted in helping his son in law Jon Fourez (wife Dee) on the farm.

Paul was a member of the I&I Antique Tractor and Gas Engine Club for many years. He served the club in several capacities, serving on the show safety committee for several years, and spent many long days on the lawn mower keeping the grounds looking good.

In 1947, Paul was joined in marriage to Nora Augusta Dobberfuhl of St. Paul, Minnesota who preceded him in death. Paul and Nora had four daughters, Jan, Jill, Faye, and Dee, one son, Hugh, many grandchildren, and several great-grandchildren.

Half Century Of Progress Blog

Want to go see the Half Century of Progress III show at Rantoul, but can't get there? You can follow the action on the Blog for the show. Click on the link in "Links" list on this page, or go to http://halfcenturyofprogress.blogspot.com

We'll try to update the blog as often as possible during the show, maybe several times per day.

Gas Engines At Penfield

Over 260 Gas Engines of all sizes filled the exhibit area at Penfield this year, possibly the best turnout ever. In this short video clip, Gary Kinnett lubes and adjusts his big engine.

Oh no, It's RED!!!

In 1968, Jack DeClerk of Taylorville, Illinois was campaigning his JD 4020 on the pulling circuit at a time when International Harvester tractors were dominating. After one pull, he made a comment about "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em", and so an IHC dealer offered him the paint. The first outing at the Ford County Fair had the local JD fans pretty disgusted, but maybe the paint helped as he won the 6,000 pound class at the World Championship Tractor Pull in Sullivan, Indiana.

The old 4020, with it's appearance restored to it's glory days lives on as a tribute to a man willing to be a little different.

Why didn't I have my camera?

I wondered the same thing, but then it was pretty much dark, hard to take outdoor pictures, and I would have probably forgotten to use it anyway.

Saturday evening, at the end of the tractor pull, which was a pretty good show, the Jansen family was getting ready to make an exhibition pull with Herb Beckmeyer's Advance Rumely steam engine. The pull had been a good one, it was nice to see a younger generation on the track with the super stock tractors. The Johnson & Johnson team performed well making it into to the pulloff. Dirk and Derek Harms' "Old Mother McCormick's Beast #3" carried on the tradition of their father Darius who successfully campaigned "Old Mother McCormick's Beast, and Old Mother McCormick's Beast #2" many years ago.

Anyway, back to the steam engine on the track. In the fading light, we could see the Jansens stoking the fire for the pass down the track, and were unprepared for the show to come. As the flag dropped, the throttle opened, and off she went with shower of sparks from the stack. Contrary to expectations, the shower of sparks did not diminish, but soon became a river of sparks and flame from the stack, around the smokebox door, and everywhere else. The crowd came to their feet in stunned silence at the sight. The show continued the length of the track, when they had to stop. The end was met with thunderous applause as the old engine unhooked and returned to the pits. Many spectators said it surpassed the fireworks that followed courtesy of Hogan-Walker John Deere of Watseka, Illinois, and several anonymous friends of John Deere.
The steam engine show was intentional, and was the result of massive quantities of sawdust added to the firebox just before opening the throttle. Bill Jansen commented later that it "really cleaned out the flues in the boiler".

And I didn't have my camera!

(If someone reading this has photos or video, please leave a note in the comment section)

Maybe it's a D minus!

There was a little of everything JD at the show. This sharp looking 2/3 scale D was looking good on friday as it cruised around the grounds. Underneath the great looking sheet metal beats the heart of a JD Model H, slickly modified into the image of the styled D.

15,000!!!!!

FIFTEEN THOUSAND Tickets were sold on the 2007 raffle tractor!!!! The 1010 Special will not have a long trip to it's new home, the winning ticket holder is from Farmer City, Illinois.

As a result of making the 15,000 ticket goal, I&I President John Fredrickson and VP Darius Harms (both staunch IHC men) took a tour of the Parade route around the grounds following the announcement on Sunday before the start of the parade. Darius climbed aboard the 1010 and John followed on a JD Gator. It seems there had been a friendly bet as to whether the 15,000 goal would be reached.

How many were there?

How manyJohn Deeres were on display at the show? Several people counted, and the consensus was right around 500 John Deere tractors at the show. One exhibitor brought 29 tractors, mostly 320's, 420's and 430's in many variations.

There were at least two Deeres with mounted 1 row pickers, a 120 and a 127. Another came to the show with a mounted 237 mounted picker. There were a number of vintage JD combines on hand, several 12A's, 30's, two 40's, one older, and a later seldom seen version. A couple of 55's representing different versions, one with a 315 JD corn head.

Also in the harvesting line, a rare JD "grain pump" type elevator in good original paint. This unusual elevator used an auger hopper to feed a chain fitted with round paddles running through a round tube. The unit was usually fitted with a JD flywheel engine.

Five 8020 four wheel drives were in attendance, along with Darrel Fischer's WA-14 and WA-17 four wheel drives as well. That's a good turnout of the some of the rarest Deeres, only 100 8020's were built, and 65 0f the WA's. Some model variations had much smaller numbers, but few tractor, models approached the rarity of these four wheel drives. Also in the "big" tractor area were several 5020's and 6030's, including a 5020 re-powered with a Kinze V8 Detroit Diesel engine kit.

Though not really considered antiques by most, a number of 30 and 40 series tractors were there as well. Though the majority of these tractors are still working hard on the farm, the newest 30 series are approaching 30 years old, certainly an age that would qualify as vintage.