Thank You!

The Half Century of Progress organizing committee wishes to thank our visitors, volunteers, the members of the I&I Antique Tractor and Gas Engine Club, the village of Rantoul, and the people of Rantoul and the surrounding area who welcomed us for the weekend.  For three days in August 2005 on the Illinois prairie, time turned back a little as the sound of vintage farm machines came to life when the Rantoul National Aviation Center became a demostration farm.  Rantoul officials estimate total attendance for the weekend at 40,000-50,000 people, including vendors, volunteers and exhibitors, making it the largest event in the village's history.  Special thanks to all those who take on the "dirty jobs" that have to be done to make an event like this run smoothly.  The people who pick up the trash and collect the garbage, direct the traffic in the parking lots, collect money at the gate, and all the other less than glamorous jobs that just have to be done.  

The "Shock and Awe" 60 bottom plowing event was a great success!  The three 110 Hp Case Steam Engines performed flawlessly, pulling the monster plow numerous times over the weekend.  In a few days we'll have some more pictures and video of that event and others.  The Guiness officials were there to collect the necessary information, and the new record should be confirmed soon.  The previous record for the largest known plow was set in 1911, when a 55 bottom plow was pulled by three large IHC tractors.  This plow was assembled by ganging five John Deere engine plows together, 3 - 12 bottom plows, 1 - 10 bottom, and 1 - 14 bottom plows were used to make the 60.   The three engines were owned by Graham Sellers of Coldwater, Michigan, Ron Holland of Forest City, Iowa, and Carl Tuttle of Pawnee, Oklahoma. Thirty plowmen were needed on the plows to operate the 30 levers that raised and lowered the 60 bottoms, when you add in the engine crews, outriders, and observers, it took around 50 people to make the record breaking attempt possible.  

Half Century Of Progress II video available on VHS and DVD, see I&I Country Store for details.

The following link will take you to several very extensive collections of pictures from the show.  There are many pictures of the plow being assembled and the first run on wednesday.  http://journals.aol.com/markacorson/SteamShows/   This link will open a new window in your browser.  Thanks to Mark Corson for these pictures.

110 Hp. Case Traction Engines and Crews

Lead (right) Engine  yr. 1911
Owner – Graham Sellers of Coldwater, Michigan
Engineer - Graham Sellers & John Schrock of Ossco, Michigan
Guider – John Haley, Pontiac, Illinois
Firemen – Denny Christiansen of Manhattan, Illinois & Denny Rupert of Hillsdale, Michigan

Center Engine   yr. 1913
Owner – Ron Holland of Forest City, Iowa
Engineer – Warren Bellinger, Denver, Iowa
Guider – Warren Bellinger
Fireman – Tony Bellinger, Dysart, Iowa/font>

Trailing (left) Engine    yr. 1913
Owner – Carl Tuttle, Pawnee, Oklahoma
Engineer – Carl Tuttle
Guider – Rick Hazbrouck, Stillwater, Oklahoma
Fireman – Carl Tuttle
 
John Deere Gang Plows
Right to left
10 & 12 Bottoms – Graham Sellers, Coldwater Michigan
12 Bottom – American Thresherman Association, Pinckneyville, Illinois
12 & 14 Bottoms – Kevin Anderson, Andover, South Dakota



The "Samuelson herd dispersal" auction of farm toys and farm related artwork raised over $14,000 for the Orion Samuelson Agricultural Scholarship Fund, and gave the succesful bidders something special for their collections.  Out in the field, the numerous corn pickers, combines, tractors and plows harvested the crops and tilled the stubble fields.  The scene was strongly reminescent of the old days of the modern farm shows with large crowds watching to see which machines performed the best.  From a Waterloo Boy and a two wheel "universal type" Allis Chalmers, to a JD 4020, a wide variety of tractors and plows worked hard.  The group of mounted and drawn corn pickers in the field probably exceeded anything seen in the fields since the 1960's.  A vintage Massey Harris "Harvest Brigade" tribute combine was hard at work in the soybean fields over the weekend, accompanied by a Minneapolis Moline Uni-Combine and several others.  

The tractor pull on friday evening attracted a large and enthusiastic crowd, the turnout of contestants was topnotch and the pull lasted till nearly midnight.  "Jeeps on the Farm" had a nice display, with several uniquely equipped vintage Jeeps in attendance.  Among them a Jeep with mounted plow, one with a semi mounted sickle mower, and a Jeep cabover truck pulling one of the people movers around the demonstration fields.  

Half Century Of Progress belt buckles, t-shirts, and show pins are available at the I&I Country Store page.  If you couldn't make the show or forgot to pickup a souvenir before you left, order now while supplies last!

All in all a great show, one we'll remember and talk about for years to come.  Thanks again to all of you who helped us make it a success. We appreciate all comments and suggestions from our visitors, please send email to historicfarmdays@yahoo.com


On a sad note, the I&I Antique Tractor and Gas Engine Club lost a long time member Friday August 26, 2005 when Delbert Lewis, 73, of Pesotum passed away from injuries sustained in an accident loading one of his antique tractors to come to Rantoul.  Many visitors may have noticed his Oliver 70 draped in black, where he had parked it near the steam engines.  A man skilled in many areas, Delbert performed much of the electrical work in the buildings at Penfield, replacing and repairing light fixtures and much more.  A quiet man who did things without making a fuss about it, he will be sorely missed.  Delbert and his Oliver 70 are seen many times hard at work plowing in the 2003 Half Century of Progress videotape.  He brought the 70 to Rantoul on Thursday and plowed a little before returning home to bring another tractor the next day.  The accident happened Friday morning at his home near Pesotum.