This show is held every year in early June at Samuell Farm, just
East of Dallas on Highway 80. The farm is owned by the City
of Dallas, and the yearly show is accompanied by attractions designed
to attract families with children who are seeking a mix of entertainment
and education. This year, for instance, there was a splendid exhibit
on milking cows. Guess I must still be a kid, because I found it fascinating. Did you know that the milking
machines used in modern dairies cut the milking time per cow from about
20 minutes (by hand) to about 5 minutes?
The NTAT&E club has long had a fine relationship with the managers of the farm
(likely due in part to volunteering and assistance from club members helping out
at the farm), and the club holds its monthly meetings here. The club has a nice web
site at www.north-texas-antique-tractor-and-engine-club.org , and I met the guy who
was doing it then, Bob Camicia, at the show.
A main purpose of this yearly show is having fun. The tractor pulling sometimes displayed
two or more family members trying out different tractors (his and hers), and the club
seems to make room for all to participate regardless of tractor size or condition.
Part 2 - Fine Folks, Tractors and History
Phil Young of Gainesville brought his 1902 McCormick corn binder, and it was the nicest
I'd ever seen.
Here's Phil at the rear of the binder. He told me he plans to harvest up to 4 acres of sweet sorghum and
cane this year with this machine. He also mills the sorghum crop and boils down the juice himself.
Phil and wife Angie with '36 Farmall F-12 used to pull
the binder.
The Hilborns of Terrell displayed their clean '54 Farmall Propane MTA. Shown here are
Steve Hilborn II, Katy, Steve III, and Kim.
Looks like Steve III will be driving his own restored Farmall one of
these days.
David McCarley of Waxahachie is known for his restoration skill with Deeres such as this
'36 JD B (with F&H wheels) that belongs to his wife Angie.
The results of Dave's good work can also be seen in this JD 435 owned
by Spencer Pilgreen.
Dave's daughter, Teresa, pulling with mom's B.
Mom (Angie) is also practiced at wringing a good pull from a two-cylinder Deere.
Guess what you get when you let the photograper drive the first
Ford 9N he's been on in about 40 years in the parade of tractors?
Answer: a great pose with your styled JD D tractor. Joe and
JoAnn Small of Dallas are long time active club members and really
fine folks.
The Smalls' D is a '47 model purchased from a Lindsay, OK collector
that unstuck it from a fence row on a South Texas farm. I don't think
that it looked much like this when it left the farm.
NT club members are not afraid to enter nicely restored tractors in
the tractor pull. Here, Bobby Tucker of Burleson puts his 1950 JD A
to the test.
Like wife Sharon, Jim Gotcher can usually be found
by looking where club volunteers are working. Jim
used his good looking Deere AR for pulling track duty during
much of the show.
While Jim was not doing volunteer work with the AR, Sharon
pulled with it - and agreed to pose with Jim's handiwork.
Herbert Brown of Doblin had a handsome '49 Farmall H and was also understandably
proud of son-in-law, Todd Fenn.
Now this is the deluxe way to view a show. Rex Brooks of Argyle
lent this Wisconsin sedan to James Jarrett, who decided to chaffeur
around James' son and friend Kevin.
Mom and the girls preferred a Jarrett wagon. James' daughters Jamie and
Mikayala got a mom-powered ride from Julie.
Past club President Spencer Pilgreen always has some fine
looking specimens of his quality tractor collection at
the club's shows. This one is noteworthy for it's color,
as Spencer is primarily a fan of Green and Yellow.
Here's an annual ritual - Spencer pulling away with almost
anything they can find to load down a JD 830. As you can see, the Case
loader and two-legged weights here made the 830 and driver work a bit, but
Spencer took them all down the track.
Thanks to Larry Hardesty (who identified me by the distinctive ATIS
plumage that marks older birds of Spencer Yost's splendid email
list), I got to pose with famous Farmall guru Jim Becker (with straw hat). As usual
Jim had brought a Cub or two along.
Eat your heart out, techno-yuppies. Only James Wood of Norman, OK has
a jet-powered garden tractor. It runs on JP-4 or Jet A,
and its AirResearch GTCP-85 turbine engine once powered one of Uncle's aircraft
starter-generator units.
James bolted in a new JD-455 hydrostatic garden tractor transmission, and it seemed
to work just fine. During the show, he fired up the tractor every two hours. It definitely
did not sound like the two- and four-bangers moving around the area.
When James is not working on jets, he might be restoring
some more traditional ag engines such as these nice John Deere
engines he displayed at the show.
Keith Marks' unstyled JD B had a gorgeous No. 5 mower mounted on it.
This caught my eye because I used to use one (Chuck lift) behind a JD H
and another (hydraulic lift) behind a Farmall Super H. The No. 5 was a
quality tool, and many are still cutting after 40+ years.
This is really nice paint job. What a shame it would be to have to
use such a beautiful mower.
When someone in the club mentions serious collecting, Jim Utterback might come to mind. Jim's Massey Harris 101 here reminded me of my own first
tractor (bought at age 14) - a Massey 44-6. Next to this 101, Jim had a JD '40 H, '41 LA, and a
'27 D on display. He did not bring his six other Deeres, nor his Farmall, Allis or Case tractors
or equipment. He did bring his enthusiasm for old iron, his willingness to share his considerable knowledge and downright
friendliness.
Volunteering is the cement that holds a club together. These ladies were selling
goodies such as hats, shirts and calenders to help fund club activities. Seated
(from the left) are Sharon Gotcher, Bev Utterback, Pam Thorn (rear) and Dorothy Burkard.
Seems like an hour of attentive listening at this booth of book
and sales literature vendor Paul Hebert of Mexico, MO
should be worth a college credit in US farm history. I came, I learned
and I was awed. (Also left a bit poorer with lots to read.) Here Paul
is posing with a Rumely magazine. He said that he has been
to 27 shows this year. Talk about a dream job!
Did you know about trade cards? Paul told me that from 1893, when they were
introduced at the Columbian Exposition (Chicago World's Fair), until about 1915,
manufacturers of many products including farm machinery gave out attractive
cards with product references. Farmers wives would often save them and paste them
in scrapbooks - sort of like family photos or souvenirs of vacation trips. I could
not resist buying this specimen from Paul.
Like most vintage trade cards that survive, the rear of my card shows that it was
once pasted in a scrapbook - and what an Avery Speechless Planter of
my Grandfather's day looked like.
Was kinda wondering why people collect monkey wrenches. So I asked
Roy Ferguson, who had a grand bunch of them on display.
"ACME" (twist handle) & "HERCULES" (loop handle). Both were based on the same February 27, 1883 patent (U.S. patent No. 273,170). (My thanks to Stan Schulz, Editor of the Missouri Valley Wrench Club Newsletter, for correcting my original description of these. He saw them some 4 1/2 years after I posted this page and sent me the info.) Monkey wrenches were named after Charles Monkey.
Did you know that car manufacturers used to include tools with a new car purchase?
Roy said that the one on the far right in these car wrenches came with his dad's
1940 Chevrolet Special Deluxe 2-Dr Sedan.
Had to revise this page to add this Maytag engine when Terry Plata
pointed out that I had not paid much attention to the many fine engines
on display at the show. This dependable machine was resting unnoticed in the back of a pickup
down close to the tractor pull and seemed to want its picture taken. Glad I was
on hand to oblige. Bet it has helped wash many a load of clothes. The take-apart spark plug with the brass cap
brings back childhood memories of looking through discarded ones that looked like this in parts buckets.
NOTE: Sure would appreciate any corrections in case I've accidently mixed up my
notes and assigned anyone above the wrong tractor, son or daughter, hometown,
wife, name, etc. I've tried to keep everything straight, but I talked with
many folks and took many photos during the show. Would also appreciate
any comments or suggestions on other items you might like to see in future
show descriptions.
Click here to share your comments.
This page was prepared in June 1997
Page modified in Dec. 2001, and on Mar. 3, 2002
Chuck Bealke
