A Picture Page of Machines And Their Helpers That I Met At

The Splendid Home Of The

Western Minnesota Steam Thresher's Reunion

Rollag, MN - Labor Day Weekend, 1997  

Part 1 - The Setting

Rollag is a jewel of a show that shines radiant in a gorgeous setting - rolling wheat and hay fields rimmed by lakes and ponds, green pastures, fertile plowed ground, and and on one side the town with its two handsome church steeples. For me the centerpiece was the farmstead. Sure took me back to my younger days on the farm.

~  Click on smaller photos to bring up larger ones.   ~

Part 2 - The Past In The Present

The show bustles with a variety of activities that recall the area's past. I watched steam engines pulling plows and powering a sawmill that received logs raised from the water nearby onto horse drawn wagons. A steam locomotive and tractor-drawn wagons were moving around the large site almost continuously to help the folks attending get about to see everything. In one building there was a fine collection of miniature engines. Another building (by the RR tracks) is a small town train station. Opening the door of that wooden establishment is like stepping back in time 100 years. It has authentic wall signs, telegraph set, wooden benches, coal stove and the rest of the trimmings from another age. As with most such events, a good part of the fun for me is watching the volunteers explaining how the relics from their (allright, our) childhood and before operated. While I was sitting in the train station, a volunteer my age was explaining the workings of the telegraph to a woman and her young, attentive son.

The show's widespread reputation is a tribute to hard work by skilled volunteers, good planning and management, a wondrous variety of working tractors and other antiques displayed, plus the support of attendees and the surrounding area. Hosting this annual world-class show has become a major local tradition, and the folks that live in this part of the country are obviously proud of the fame of the show and the part they play in recreating the past here every year. They have good reason to be.

Pre-Tractor  Horsepower

Steam-Powered Plowing

More Steam Power - Lifting Logs At Sawmill and Loading Gravel

The Harvest

Part 3 - The Wheeled Machines

Big shows with hundreds of tractors are not too hard to locate, and those with a group of steam traction engines are not really rare.  But to find such an incredible variety of both together as are operating here is astounding.    The parade of tractors ends at the top of a hill, and the sounds, sights and smells of the giants climbing the grade to the announcer is a real treat.  I was a bit surprized to find that while many of the iron-wheelers seventy and more years old clanged and rattled along, others moved by very quietly.   There was also a nice, broad sampling of gas and diesel tractor exhaust tones from the rubber tired antiques.  And after the parade there was plenty of time to go locate your favorites and chat with their operators.

Rollag Is The Place To Be If You Dream Of Steam

Parade of Tractors

Sampling Of Many Acres Of Antiques On Display

The Unique - Don Dufner's Triple (JD 830) Design

  ~  For More Info, See Part 4 Below  ~

Part 4 - The People

For me, half the fun of antique tractor gatherings is getting to talk with great people.  Rollag is definitely my kind of show and my kind of people.  What starts as a brief question on harness, plow, or windmill adjustment can easily turn into an hour's discussion and perhaps a long friendship. 

If I had come with a big truck and heavier wallet, I could have gone home with a reasonably priced JD 830 that was mentioned by a fellow standing next to me to watch the parade of tractors.  (Well, to be truthful I should add a few more "if"s to cover spousal reaction, storage costs, place to restore it, etc.)   Darn, always wanted a diesel with a pony motor.

This is a place to learn and to share memories.  Guys my age even compare notes on persistent distractions from our hobbies - things such as kids, crop prices, jobs, and grandchildren.  It's also fun learning how local farming practices differ.  In one hour,  I got briefed on MN laws relating to stocking of ponds, what's new with the local railroads and tractor dealerships, and farm museums of interest in the Fargo area.

Had to come all the way to Rollag to meet a guy from back home (Texas).  Rick Johnson (left) works in Ft. Worth but volunteers at the show here just like many locals.  The sawmill log load volunteer on the right is Don Forsberg of Ft. Ransom, ND.

Jerome Swedberg, WMSTR Secretary and busy man during show, kindly stopped to pose with his one-cylinder Hart-Parr. They also appear above in parade of tractors.

Dave Herbranson of Hawley, MN, with 1954 Case SC, corn binder and bundles of corn.

Don Dufner of Buxton designed and built the impressive rig shown here and above in 3 yrs. of his spare time from three modified John Deere 830s.  He said this is primarily a work rather than a show machine and he uses it in his normal farming operations to pull a 42' field cultivator at approx. 6 3/4 mph  (5th gear).  He also noted it will easily pull an 11 bottom 16" plow.  He used a 6" ball joint (middle photo above) from a mining truck to connect the rear unit,  so that this unit can be fairly easily disconnected from the first two.

When I reach my 80's, may I have the delightful sense of humor, keen insight and great memory of tractor trader extraordinaire Forrest Pense.  Forrest is from Harvard, NE and is shown here on the right with his friend Clyde Obermeier of Giltner, NE.  Forrest has a keen knowledge of steamers, early gas tractors and about anything else sold for farm use in the early part of this century.  It was almost dark when I asked him which tractor models he remembered most fondly from his youth.   He took me like a shot to a 1917 Huber on display (not his) and pointed out the features that made it easy to operate, reliable and a favorite of his formative years..

Unfortunately, my sawmill pics did not come out well, and a roll of film was lost.  Therefore, this is the only picture I have of Richard Adams of Columbia, MO, and the 1923 Case 40-72 (owned by Dennis Powers of Ogden, Iowa). Richard was starting here with the help of  '49 Case CD-4 driver Johnathan Haux (foreground).   In an enjoyable ride to the sawmill (to provide pulley power to the saw) Richard told me a bit about the 40-72 and what it's like to care for and operate it.

You just don't see many ladies operating one of these.  Beth Horne of Horace, ND, learned her love of steamers from her grandfather.  Although she works raising two young sons, she is also learning to be an engineer on these old machines and seems right comfortable with this Huber 25 owned by Marlene Nelson of Hawley, MN.

Jerry Mandt of Wahpeton, ND, was enjoying scooting about the showgrounds in his 1917 Ford Touring Model T.   I really liked the convenient auxiliary seating he carries on the running board.

John Davidson of Bristol, WI, is just the fellow you need to have around if you have an antique stationary engine problem to fix.  Here, he works on a Joiner Double-Acting Tandem, which may have been the proof of concept engine used to patent the engine design.   A full-sized Joiner engine (lots bigger but same design) will soon be completed in the show building close to where this one is located.

Notes:

• Sure would appreciate any corrections in case I've accidently mixed up my notes and assigned anyone above the wrong tractor info, grandson, hometown, wife, name, etc. I've tried to keep everything straight, but I talked with many folks and took many photos during the show.  Also, if you like this page or have a suggestion for my future show pages or other topic, please share that too.

Click here to email me a comment.

• To my knowledge as I write this, the official WMSTR site may be found at http://www.rollag.com/dir.html .

• One roll of film was lost and pictures I took of sawmill operations were unsatisfactory, so unfortunately not all of the folks that I talked to and photographed at the show appear here. 

• My other web pages on related topics:

~  This page was completed on 1/30/98 by Chuck Bealke, Dallas  ~