Man’s love of tractors fuels OFFD event

KATE O’CONNELL/independent feature writer

For those who prefer using a wrench over rebooting a computer when it comes to fixing a tractor, there’s a new opportunity at Old Fashioned Farmers Days.

D’Wight Sheets, president of the Old Fashioned Farmers Association, said the addition of the Tractor Part Swap Meet is another reason for someone to visit the annual event, now in its 41st year, on the Van Wert County Fairgrounds.

Vendor and exhibitor Jim Sites of Mendon said he was born and raised on a dairy farm and loving tractors is “in his blood.” He is always looking to swap parts.

“You never know what you are going to find when you go to a swap meet,” Sites said.

Items displayed on tables at the north end of the fairgrounds on Friday would be of no use to an owner of a modern John Deere, but for those looking to restore an antique — a machine built before 1959 — finding that carburetor, tractor seat or rotary hoe wheel can be essential for a successful project.

“You can go out to these old tractors and all you have to know is gas, spark, and battery and you can usually get them running,” Sites said. It practically takes a computer technician to work on tractors built after the mid-1990s, he added.

Sites said someone who has the opportunity to own an antique tractor should have the philosophy of trying to fix it first, and then — only if it isn’t fixable — part it out.

“Some guys are parting out old tractors but I love to see those old tractors out there. I think they are as beautiful now as they were new,” Sites said as he nodded toward rows of Oliver, John Deere, and Allis-Chalmers tractors — the featured brand of this year’s celebration.

And those restored machines need to have the original paint, Sheets added.

Stiles brought his grandchildren and wife to the show with him and hopes the younger generation will “catch the bug” when it comes to restoring farm implements.

Sheets said his children have an appreciation for restoration. His son, Mark, bought a 1952 John Deere R model from Stiles a couple years ago. It caused a stir during the event because D’Wight Sheets had always been an Oliver guy.

“It created a big buzz out here on the grounds,” Sheets said, laughing. “He bought it on Friday and he won the tractor pull on Saturday. Jim was sitting alongside the track and I don’t know which one was more excited, Mark or Jim. Jim said he had never pulled with it.”

Sites and Sheets said events like Farmers Days will hopefully help get others interested in their passion. A new event designed to entice novice and women tractor drivers to get behind the wheel — a powder puff tractor pull — was scheduled on Friday morning, but the event was canceled due to rain. Sheets said that event will be on next year’s agenda.

About 25 members of the Van Wert Old Fashioned Farmers Association plan the event. Anyone can become a member of the group for a $7 fee for a family.

Farmers Days is designed to have something for everyone, Sheets said. Saturday events include an antique tractor pull; chainsaw sculpting; kids pedal tractor pull; kids games; the fiddler, banjo, and harmonica contest; kids’ old fashioned cow milking; and several bands throughout the day.

“We have a whole lot of things to do. We got the animal land, thrashing and corn shelling demonstrations and the sawmill is in operation,” he said. “Some young people come out and a lot of the old people like to come out and sit down in the thrashing area and reminisce on the way we used to do it.”