The South Central Montana Antique Tractor And Machinery Association was formed in 1987. The club was conceived during one of Oscar's Dreamland shows, when several of the clubs prospective members were helping Oscar with his show and started talking. Since each of them had some antique machinery of their own that they would like to display, they decided to form a club, so they could have their own show. Thus the birth of the South Central Montana Antique Tractor and Machinery Association, called the Antique Tractor Club for short. It later became Branch 29 of the EDGE&TA. The Antique Tractor Club is a non-profit organization and is dedicated to promote the collection, restoration, preservation, exhibition of early day agricultural machinery & tools, including power and horse-driven farm machinery, or any other equipment of historical value. Some members are interested in antique tractors, such as two cylinder John Deere's, McCormick-Deering, Farmall, Case, Rumely, Hart Parr, Oliver, Allis Chalmers, Fordson, and others. Other members are interested in stationary engines, the engines that were used on early day farms and ranches to pump water, grind feed, power electrical plants, power stationary hay balers, and even including grandma's washing machine. Others are interested in horses and horse drawn plows, discs, seeders, wagons, buggies, and surreys. Some of the members are interested in blacksmithing, using a hot fire from a forge, a hammer and an anvil to form iron into intricate shapes such as gate hooks, steak turners, coat hooks, even to reshape plowshares. Steam traction engines were used on early farms and are owned and operated by several of the Antique Tractor Club's members. Steam engines were used for threshing, operating a threshing machine by a long flat drive belt. They were also used to power sawmills and were used to pull plow to break up the prairie sod. In 1997 the club undertook a major project of building a blacksmith shop. The 48' X 56' pole construction building is used to display a blacksmith shop that they purchased near Circle, MT. The club not only displays the blacksmith shop but also uses it for other static displays related to The Old Tractor Club. Club members interested in doing blacksmith work can demonstrate their expertise during the threshing bee, and will have the use of the building any time during the year to perfect their blacksmithing abilities. The Threshing Bee is held each year the third weekend in August at the Huntley Project Museum of Irrigated Agriculture and is the highlight of the club's yearly activities. This is the time of the year when the club members bring out their latest restoration of a tractor, stationary engine, or demonstrate their expertise in driving horses, blacksmithing, binding grain, threshing, sawmill operation, as well as operating tractors and steam engines. In addition to the things that used to be done on a farm at the threshing bee, the members also compete with each other in a slow tractor race, where the slowest tractor wins! They also demonstrate their tractor skills in a barrel race, where antique tractors are used to push a barrel across a finish line. A tractor balance, like the teeter-totter that we all played with in grade school only for a tractor and his driver, also demonstrates the operators’ skill (and luck!). For the smaller kids, the members sponsor a kiddee pedal tractor pull, where the younger set can test their strength and skills. About the middle of each day of the two-day threshing bee, a parade of power is held, where each mobile piece of equipment is paraded and shown off to the spectators. A thresher lunch is available at noon each day. Musical entertainment is also provided at the Threshing Bee. The Antique Tractor Club also participates in the Saint Patrick's Day parade in Billings each year. Members decorate their tractors, hayracks, and other machinery and enter it in the parade. (The green John Deere's fit right into the St. Patrick's Day theme.) The club also participates in Broadview Days, a parade held in Broadview each year about the first weekend in June. Once in the spring and once in the fall, the Antique Tractor Club has a potluck dinner meeting for the whole family. The club's membership consists of over 100 families. It's members’ come from Miles City to Columbus, and Bridger to Billings, and even has members from out of the state, such as Iowa, Nebraska, and Arizona. This club is affiliated with the "Early Day Gas Engine & Tractor Association", (EDGE&TA) as Branch 29. The EDGE&TA is an national organization that puts its members in touch with other collectors all over the USA. The club meets monthly, every third Thursday, at the REA Hall in Huntley. For membership information contact Dick Tombrink, 2250 Road 12 North, Worden, MT, 59088, phone (406) 976-6687, email dicknsue@nemontel.net..

Branch Officers for 2009

 

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2009 Show Events:

Date	Event	Contact

Huntley Project Threshing Bee, 2006

Huntley Montana

By Dick Tombrink

The 16th Annual Huntley Project Threshing Bee was held on August 21 and 22. It is always held the third weekend of August. The Threshing Bee was held at the Huntley Project Museum of Irrigated Agriculture approximately 15 miles east of Billings, MT. It is put on by the South Central Montana Antique Tractor and Machinery Association, or "Tractor Club" and is branch 29 of the EDGE&TA. The grounds has a major irrigation canal running through the middle of it. On the north side of the canal is homesteader hall, where the art and crafts booth are set up. Swap meet booths are set up outside of the hall. The hall also has a kitchen where the noon thresher's meal is served. During the noon meal musical entertainment is provided by local musicians. People can enjoy listening to the entertainment under the shade of large cottonwoods trees while eating at a picnic table on the vast lawn. The club wives also bake pies and bring to the show. The homemade pies have gotten to be quite a reputation; I think some people come only for a piece of the homemade pie! This year the new museum building was open for the first time during our Threshing Bee. Since it had just I opened, it was a somewhat lacking in displays. Next year it will have numerous displays relating to the Huntley Project Community.

The south side of the canal is where the tractor related activities took place. This year's new attraction was a grain header that was restored and operated by Joe Feist. He had two mules and two horses on it. He said the mules did 90% of the work. Prior to the show he did a lot of practicing with the horses and mules to get them used to it. He hooked his 4-wheel drive pickup on the back of it with a nylon strap. His wife, Joann, was assigned to apply the brakes on the pickup if there should be a runaway. He did not say how many times this happened. During the show things went well. It was the first time for a lot of us to see a header not only restored but in operation. He also had the header barge or header wagon that he has restored to go with the header.

Threshing Grain has always been a big part of our show. Charlie Rosselot, ( who owns the Keck Gonnerman Threshing Machine), Dave Lambrecht, and Clem Krkosa were in charge of the threshing. We usually have about 8 bundle loads of grain to thresh. We try to thresh two loads in the morning with gas tractors, and at least one of the two afternoon loads with a steam engine. In addition to the Keck Gonnerman machine, the club has a John Deere Threshing Machine, both of which are used at the Threshing Bee.

We left some grain standing on the showgrounds to demonstrate binding during the Threshing Bee. Charlie and Clem, with help from Leo Lambrecht demonstrated the how a binder works. We have a John Deere 8 foot power binder, which is normally pulled by Charlie's John Deere B tractor.

Barry Bender operated the sawmill this year. Clair Tempero normally is our sawyer, but this year he had a range fire that threatened his ranch, so he was fighting that fire. Barry did a good job. Jim Strobbe, John Krkosa, and Jim Tombrink assisted him. Dick Tombrink used his 15 hp Case steam engine to power the sawmill. The club has a planer that was retrieved from the local recycling center, and restored. It was used to plane the lumber, which is used for club projects. Ed Weidinger owns a shingle mill, and demonstrated how shingles were made. The shingles were given to the spectators, who could take them to the blacksmith shop to be branded with 2002 and a Case steam engine outline. We found that the supply of shingles could not keep up with the demand from the spectators. Paul Johnson was in charge of branding the shingles. He made the branding iron.

There was lots of activity in the blacksmith shop. The equipment for the blacksmith shop was bought several years ago from a family near Circle, MT. It was a complete blacksmith shop on the ranch. The shop was abandoned in the 60's after that generation retired. The building was falling down and the owners wanted to sell it or get it to a museum. Our club was fortunate to be able to obtain the equipment, including the line shafts, forge, trip hammer, drill press, grinders, etc. We erected a building and reinstalled the blacksmith shop in it. Bill Hoefer, Paul May, Jon Christensen, and Jon Klasna worked in the blacksmith shop. Jon Klasna demonstrated the lathe and homemade vertical mill. The others were pounding red iron and making trinkets to sell to spectators.

Father Greg Staudinger brought his ˝ scale Case Steam traction engine and used it to run a grist flourmill. Clair Tempero restored the gristmill several years ago. It was a good match for the ˝ scale Case. Father Greg was used to running his engine at Rollag, on hard eastern coal, which has a high BTU content. We provided him some Montana soft coal, which he referred to as "Montana Dirt".

The afternoon events start with a slow tractor race and barrel race. The slow tractor race gets interesting, but can be like watching paint dry. Larry Hoban, Don Easton, and Ken Amann were the officials of the slow tractor race and barrel race. The Parade of Power give each tractor owner a chance to show off his tractors. There were about 60 tractors at the show. Some are brought from over 100 miles away, such as the Cat 60 and Ford V-8 that is brought by Ted and Don Pyle of Miles City. Other interesting tractors include Jerry Nash's homemade Rolls Kinardly model 88, Lester Aye with his 27-44 Twin City and 6 bottom Lacrosse plow, and Jim Hoskins with his Farmall Shop Mule, type A-21. This tractor was originally built by the W. F. Hebard Co. Tom Bednarek had his Rumely model R at the show even though his health was failing. Unfortunately Tom passed away several weeks after the show.

Two hay presses or balers demonstrated baling. Both are owned and have been restored by Dick Tombrink. One is an International horse powered hay press. Joe Feist used his mules for power. A 6 hp IHC model M engine powered the second hay press. Bales from both are hand tied with wire.

Steve Siewert and Lester Aye put on a plowing demonstration. Lester used his Lacrosse plow, and Steve used a disc plow.

During the afternoon, Ken Amann and Al Rennich made homemade ice cream, and gave a sample to those nearby. It did not take long for the word to get around; the ice-cream disappeared pretty fast.

Bill Green operated a tractor pull for the kids. And for the big kids, we had a full size pulling sled. We do not get to technical about pulling, with weight classes etc. We just do it for the fun of it.