A2B-L>ncastw Farming, Saturday, May 5,1990 Dealer Collects Antique (Continued from Pago A 1) housed in a large bam in back of the Lynnport dealership. Kermit has been an equipment dealer since 1945, but he only caught the antique-collecting bug recently. “We got started about five years ago,” he said. “We went to some shows and saw all the loc al interest Having a local club helped too.” Kistler enjoys not only the physical beauty of a fine machine, but the thought of the people behind it. “Nowadays people think you have to go to college to be an engineer. Years ago engi neers were self-made men. I admire their work,” Kermit said. Kistler’s son, Ronald, is as interested in the old-time equip ment as his dad. Both men agreed that their favorite tractor in the collection is the 1919 Waterloo Boy. “It’s the oldest tractor in the this Wheel Horse lawn tractor with its steering handle. VERNON ACHENBACH JR. Lancaster Fanning Staff GAP (Lancaster Co.) —Gordon Hoover is not the kind of man who appears controversial. His shock of black hair, square shoulders, weathered hands and even-tempered manner all seem to say that this 34-year-old eastern Lancaster County dairy farmer spends most of his time concen trating on his 200 registered Holsteins. Which, of course, he docs. But, time around the farm has given Hoover plenty of opportuni ty to think things through. A graduate of Penn State Uni versity, and in business with his father, Hoover has developed some ideas of his own on farmland preservation. Actively a member of many organizations from youth through college, and eight years with the Lancaster County chapter of the Pennsylvania Farmers’ Associa uon have allowed him to see things others don’t see: the course of social intent and the infancy of potential legal standards. He also sees what everybody else sees on a trip to town. He is keenly aware of a community clos ing in and around him; threatening to cut off the future of small busi- Pennsylvania Farmers’ Association Represents Farmers Many county chapters of the Pennsylvania Farmers Associa tion, a grass-roots level of the American Farm Bureau don’t always operate the way they should, according to the president of the Lancaster County chapter. The Lancaster County Farmers’ Association is designed so that it is broken into 13 different districts. Gordon Hoover, president, said that members have a tendency to bypass their district representa tives when seeking answers and remedies available through the collection. They were manufac tured from 1912 to 1924 by Waterloo Gasoline Engines. John Deere purchased the company in 1918,” Ronald said, “It started their development of the 2-cylinder models, which lasted till the New Generation tractors in 1960,” he said. The Waterloo Boy in itself was worth making a trip to see. The green and fellow tractor with met al spiked wheels was the most eye-catching vehicle in the collec tion. Kermit admitted that the family did the paint wdrk themselves. “We bought the Waterloo Boy from a museum ih South Carolina. It was in good condition but the paint was faded. We repainted it. Johnny Bond did the lettering,” Kermit said. Joan Staudt, Kermit’s daughter, is also involved in the collection. Gordon Hoover: Get Involved To Protect Future ness a agriculture in southern Pennsylvania. And, recently, as Hoover sat in window light at his farm house kitchen table, his forehead showed furrows of concern as he spoke words that carried a message of impending disaster; that, farmland preservation is not working and 100 years from now the possibility of anyone seeing but a handful of furrowed fields in Lancaster may be very slim. Hoover, of Gap, is in his third year as president of the Lancaster County chapter of the Pennsylva nia Farmers’ Association. The job carries with it a respon sibility to represent local farmer opinion and to help local farmers seek remedies. The organization is the grass roots of the national American Farm Bureau. But Hoover is more than that. He is an individual who speaks his' mind, when asked. And he holds a belief in a method of pre serving farmland that seems to run against popular thinking. Statewide Ag Zoning According to the young dairy man, the real answer to preserving farmland is to either ensure that farming remains a money-making organization. According to Hoover, this can confuse issues and is not the man ner in which the organization func tions smoothly. The quickest way to get help, with any issue or prob lem, is to call a local representa tive, he said. For more information on the organization, contact: District 1 Jane Balmer, Mount Joy, 653-5916; District 2 Ike Geib, Manheim, 665-4743; District 3 Marvin Wittner, Lititz, 626-52%; District 4 Robert Fox. Lititz. Tractors tractors. She and her husband, Curtis, work in the dealership. Ronnie is the manager,” Kermit said. Beatrice Kistler, Kermit’s wife, is not a collector. “But she is patient with the rest of us,” Kermit said. While Kistler’s is now a John Deere dealership, the antique col lection is remarkably varied. While there are lots of green and yellow to be seen, the collection includes Massey Ferguson’s Inter nationals, Terratracs, Allis Chal mers, Shepard’s, and a Fordson. “We have some early lawn trac tors. We have a Wheel Horse that was steered with a handle.” Despite the wide-ranging col lection, Kistler still yearns for other machines. “I’d really like to find a Lindeman Crawler. We had some but that was before we started collecting, so we sold them. The Lindeman Bros, made the track and it had a John Deere B engine.” Kistler doesn’t expect the size of the collection to change much in the future. “We may sell some of the more common pieces and buy some rarer items,” he said. “Some restorable rarer items,” Ronnie said with a laugh. The public will have a chance to admire some of the Kistler collec tion in the near future. “We enjoy taking part in shows. We’ll be at the Antique Engine, Tractor and Toy Club Show in Kempton on proposition or create statewide mandatatory agriculture zoning. Since the government isn’t in the business of making sure that individual businessmen succeed, tough, state-wide agricultural zon ing could possibly be the only way for tillable farmland to remain intact, according to Hoover.- “If you can keep farming profit able, that’s what’s going to pre serve the farmland; more so and more thoroughly than preserving the land. Because even though you have the land to farm, if you can’t make a living doing it, why you’re not going to be able to use it,” Hoover said. Farmland Preservation A Fad? “I think ag land preservation, with too many persons in the publ ic, is an emotional issue. And they’re not committed enough to it to provide the dollars that it will ultimately take to do the job that some of these specialists think needs to be done. “We have this $lOO million bond issue that the state has floated. And that’s something that my great grandchildren are still going to be paying off when they pay their taxes. And it won’t take long to get rid of that $lOO million, (Turn to Pag* A 34) 738-2580; District 5 Earl New comer, Washington Boro, 872-2646; District 6 Donald Ranck, Paradise, 687-7353; Dis trict 7 Delmar Weaver, New Hol land, 354-9734; District 8 Thomas Wentzel, East Earl, 445-4580; Dis trict 9 Raymond H. Hess, Cones toga, 872-4268; District 10 Gor don Hoover, Gap, 768-3500; Dis trict 11 James Hess, Quarryville, 786-3238; District 12 Karl Herr, Kirkwood, 529-2571; District 13 Glenn Aument, Quarryville, 548-2373. June 2 and 3, We will also beexhi- swords for would-be . collectors, biting at the Oley Fair this fall.” “You don’t have to be crazy to Kermit had some well-chosen collect tractors, but it helps.” This Is the John Deere ldl9 Waterloo Boy, theoldest trac tor in the Kistler collection. Roger Ludwig helped the Klstlers by demonstrating this 1918 International engine. According to Ludwig, engines of this type were used to grind feed and saw wood. Gordon Hoover, president of Lancaster County’s chapter of Pennsylvania Farmers Association, says farmers must get involved to keep farming alive.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers