On the Road: Tractor Club Beginnings

A Monthly Column by Dave Gohl

(c)1998 All Rights Reserved

I was surprised about a month ago when I got a call from a fellow tractor croonie. His message was interesting and to the point. He's says "Dave, I've been thinking about starting a Two Cylinder club for our area. What do ya think?" It was a loaded question. I said that I would be interested, and was wondering what his next step was. (Although I was talking under my breath, since I thought of this some years ago) My friend, Arlyn Lamb of Lakeville, Minnesota was sincere in his mission. He said that we would meet at his house on a Thursday night and toss it around a bit with other tractor cronies in my area.

Well, when this particular Thursday came, I jumped in my truck and headed over to Arlyn's, a short 25 minute ride from our home. It was snowing! Yuk! No matter how much I love John Deeres, it's hard to get motivated about anything about tractors when you have snow flakes as big as olives pelting your windshield. Once I arrived, there were other fellows there, some I knew, some were new. After introductions, we gathered around the dining room table and Arlyn tried to call this clan to order. It was difficult. Some guys (eleven in all) were more interested in talking than coming to attention. Once things settled down, Arlyn had everyone sign a sheet with date to commemorate this historic occasion. Once we went around the table with "formal" intro's, Arlyn thought it would be a good idea to go around the table again, and tell what we have in our own collection and maybe an antidote or two. Some of the stories were quite interesting. Some were quite humorous. I brought some of our Greater Minnesota Two Cylinder Club's news letters and filled them in on all the work that goes into running a club, keep it running and have it grow to a size that would make rabbits jealous! It took about 2 hours to get all the stories out. Between, there were alot of comments and questions, some serious and some worth a laugh or two. Starting a club in a highly populated area could be dangerous. Once the word gets out, you may be running for cover with an overwhelming response. Or, you may continue to meet in nicely furnished dining rooms. If it's any type of antique tractor club, and the popularity of collecting, I have a feeling you'd be running for cover. In a hurray!

Starting clubs can be fun, but you must be dedicated to the organization, and to the others involved. The key word here is involvement. Showing up for meetings is good, but rolling up your sleeves and pitchin' in is better. A club of any size can be challenging work. You can't always rely on the same people to do the work for any club time after time. If they do it's called burn-out. It takes teamwork to make it work and successful. If you don't have it, you might as well be the only pickle in a jar and that's not any fun. Share the work, share the fun.

You know, it's hard to get a group of guys together, even if it's only eleven, who collect tractors to agree on anything. The one thing we all did agree on? Meeting again.

Update: It was nice to see the raffle tickets for Field Days contain the name Larson Farms. I was also reminded that our club rents the grounds we're using for Field Days. Rent is paid 2 weeks before and 2 weeks after. Like any good reporter, it's always good to report all the facts.

Deere Thoughts:

Model "GP" tractors were equipped with a 3 speed transmission.....The model "420" Forklifts were all based on a "420" utility chassis.....The rear wheels of the model "L" are disk type, while the "LA" is cast rears with demountable rims.....The Model"70" diesel was introduced in late 1954.

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