The pulsating throb of farm
ing’s golden “hay-day” thundered
once again through the crisp wint
er air of Lebanon Valley last
Saturday.
The largest two-cylinder vin
tage tractor sale ever held in the
East echoed sounds of farming’s
mechanized past across the Leba
non Fairgrounds.
Sitting in the mobile auction
booth and explaining the tractors
was Lloyd J. Wenger, Myerstown.
“We spent years finding and
amassing such a collection and
due to their scarcity and growing
popularity there may never again
be such a large number in the
same place at one time,” he said.
His interest in antique tractors
also extends to a collection of kids
pedal tractors and other agricultur
al memorabilia of museum size
and quality.
But on Saturday the spotlight
centered on the large collection of
farm tractors that dated as far back
as nearly a half century.
The sale, attractive enough to
keep almost 700 registered bid
ders and many more onlookers out
all day in single-digit wind chills,
displayed proof of the popularity
of these machines with hearts and
skeletons of pure iron rather than
plastic and alloys.
Most of the 120-odd tractors
wore the familiar green and yel
low mantel over two-cylinder
engines of the only major agricul
ture machinery manufacturer
without a name change John
Deere.
Soon, there was a field full of
machines hollering their twin
252 N. Shirk Rd., New Holland, PA 17557 Box 56, RR 1, Atglen, PA 19310
717-354-6066 215-593-2981
E.L. Smith Air Compressor
Low Profile Features
Pneumatic wheels
with steel ri
Gasoline engines -
Briggs & Stratton,
Wisconsin Robin, Two c,. jer, single wheel,
Kawasaki, Kohler or Honda. 8 gallon tank ordual wheel 17 gallon tank;
Horsepower range, 5 HP to 8 HP. Four cylinder, dual wheel, 10 or 25 gallon tank.
Electric motors - V« HP to 5 HP. ASME tanks available.
> SPECIAL INTRODUCTORY OFFER THRU MARCH:
• Electric - 'A HP -s49s°°
Huge Tractor
lungs out. Besides the Deeres was
a scattering of other vintage mod
els, such as red-bellied 8N Fords,
deep green Olivers and Minneapo
lis Molines, with almost as much
iron as a small battleship in their
blocks.
The Johnny Pop-Ups which
ranged from a massive tank-sized
“R” to a garden vanity “L” were
the center of attention.
Their chugging throbs, bobbing
frontends and quivering fenders
brought chills up and down the
spines of both farmers who used
them and collectors who wished
they had.
the vibrant action of the trac
tors was reflected in the spirited
bidding they generated.
Queen of the sale at $9,700 was
a little restored John Deere 330
utility whose owner can now be
numbered among a select group of
a few hundred. It went to Char
lotte, NC.
The collecting value of the rare
330 was exemplified by the pro
tective plastic shielding wrapped
around the housing that contained
the serial plate. Many an auction
company has been hit in recent
years by people who chisel off the
plates for possible later counterfeit
use.
Nearby a giant cousin a John
Deere 60 Hi-Crop, a conventional
tractor on stilts resembled a
crouching grasshopper. It brought
$9,000 and headed for lowa.
A more squat and stubby John
Deere 80 stopped at $7,000. It
even sported a factory cab a
rarity back in the mid-’sos when
farmers mostly drove tractors in
Better Hydraulics
Show Attracts Hundreds
jrs reci >ea pi nation prlo
cylinder sale at Lebanon Fairgrounds last Saturday.
the open air year-round and not in car driven by a little old grand
climatc-controlled cocoons where mother only on Sunday afternoon,
they can’t feel, smell, or hear the A 2000 Ford with 105 hours
results of their labor. The 80 also went south and may spend the rest
went to North Carolina. of its days in the Florida sunshine.
There were tractors with origi- The Saturday sale was preceded
nal hour meters still in the hun- Friday night by a reception and
dreds the farm equivalent of a o pcn house at the Wengers tractor
at 7 a.m. and leave Penn State at 4
p.m. to arrive home at 6:30 p.m.
For registration information, con
tact the sponors, the Berks County/
Southeast Pennsylvania Cattle
men’s Association, atm: Clyde
Myers, Berks Co. Cooperative
Extension, P.O. Box 520, Lees
port, PA 19533-0520, or call (215)
378-1327.
The bus will leave the restaurant Expo will cover vari-
LEESPORT (Berks Co.) A
bus trip to the 1992 Beef Expo in
State College will leave at 7 a.m.
Bom Esther’s Restaurant, near
Fredericksburg, on March 26.
The cost of the bus trip is $3O,
which includes bus fee plus
registration, milk and donuts,
lunch, and a copy of the
proceedings.
Large metal canister, automotive
type air Intake filter/ silencer
Heavy duty belt guard ventilated
on both sides for maximum cooling
• Gasoline - Honda s6so°°
Briggs ss9s°°
Bus Trip To Beef Expo
h efficient;’
cast iron compressors
Large pressure gauges
conveniently mounted
for easy reading
Accessory
filter / regulator combination
Lancaster Farming Saturday, March 7,1992-D3
racket
• Wood ft Coal
StOVM
• Flraplaca
Accaaaoriaa
• Ducana Gaa Grills
le si
parts facility along Route 501
south of Mycrstown.
The sale-goers were shown the
staggering variety and number of
tractor parts warehoused to a
height of 18 feet across an area the
size of a football field.
ous topics, including the econom
ics of preventive health program
for the cattle herd, the effect of
environment on immune status and
vaccine performance, various herd
vaccination programs, quality
assurance and injection site car
cass damage, implications of off
label use of drugs in cattle, and
other topics.
THE CLASSIFIED LIVESTOCK SECTION
HAS BEASTLY SELECTIONS!
VERMONT CASTINGS
All Models In Stock
FURNITURE.
GAS GRILLS
& HAMMOCKS
Bowman’s
Stove Shop
(717) 733-4973
906 E. Main Street
Ephrata • Rt. 322
(1 M. E. Of Rt. 222)
two-
l r M
NOT
L10N...
PATIO