Chapter 1 Missouri

Chapter #1 held its third quarter meeting August 20th, at the home of Darrell and Kevin Darst, in Madison, Missouri. We had a wonderful meal catered by Becky’s Restaurant of Madison, a big thank you to Darrell and Kevin for opening up their collection, it was a great day. The 2011 National Auction is history, I want to thank everyone that helped and consigned items. On October 8th, Chapter #1 held its second annual IH plow day on the farm of Don Mutter, near Jacksonville, Missouri. We had 23 tractors show up, the ground was hard and very dry, but everyone had a good time. The next membership meeting and Christmas dinner will be held December 3rd, at the community center in Pilot Grove, Missouri.

--Andrew Dawson, President

Chapter 2 Northern Illinois

Show season is over and our chapter was well represented at various shows in our area. Our Chapter Two trailer that sells IH merchandise got to these shows selling and also promoting our chapter. The Sublette Toy Show this year is a two day event. The show will be on March 17th and 18th and will feature International Harvester. Our chapter will help make this a special event this year. It is not only Sublette’s 30th Anniversary but our Chapters 20th year. We are currently looking for any vendors of IH to contact any director for details. All IH collectors are encouraged to bring machinery, parts, toys, collectibles, etc. Our chapter currently has a site on Face book. Anyone can visit this site on IHCC Chapter #2 of Northern Illinois. We currently have two raffle items to be drawn at Sublette. An IH pedal tractor and a 1/16 Precision Classic 966 tractor. You can buy tickets from any director. Have a safe winter working on those projects.

--Ken Wolf, Recording Secretary

Chapter 3 Kansas

Show season has come to an end with our State Summer show that was held in Salina Ks. on October 8th at the Central States Flywheelers show grounds. We had a great group of 40+ members that enjoyed a nice show and visit in spite of a welcome rain that fell through out much of the day. A special dedication service was held for Ewald Lofdahl a founding member of Chapter 3 and a memorial stone was dedicated in his memory at the Flywheelers grounds to honor his devotion and support of both clubs. It made for a special day for all of our members that could attend.

Chapter 3 participated in the Wichita Farm Show the second week of November will again participate in the Topeka Farm Show in January and the Kansas City Farm Show at the end of February with displays of tractors and machinery to build support of all things IH and draw in more members to the IH Collectors Club. There are still a lot of people we meet that have IH equipment and no idea that there is such a thing as a Collectors Club or tractor shows to go and enjoy them with. We all need to keep spreading the word!

Our 1st quarter meeting will be held January 14, 2012 at Salina Ks. hosted by Central States Flywheelers Club. Chapter 3 wishes all the best to everyone in the new year and hopes you get those winter projects finished in time for show season next year!

--Gary Beers, Director

Chapter 4 Wisconsin

Greetings from Wisconsin: Wisconsin Chapter #4 had two great Farmall Frolics this year. One was held in September in Union Grove and the second was in Richland Center the first week end in October. A great showing of IH tractors and equipment was enjoyed at both shows by all who attended. As I write this, we are anticipating the Fall gun deer hunt and Thanksgiving. We have enjoyed extremely warm weather so far this fall. I’m sure Mother Nature has very different ideas for us as we get further into the winter season. We’re looking forward to our Chapter #4 Winter Banquet in February after we all celebrate Christmas and the New Year with our families. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all fellow IH Collectors.

--Lyle Tydrich, President

Chapter 5 Iowa

We just completed our Fall chapter meeting (November 5) at Vinton, IA. It was hosted by Director Bob Gihring and his family. As the harvesting work was mostly completed, we had a large turnout of around 90 people. Bob provided several displays from his tractor collection for all to enjoy and arranged the excellent catered lunch which featured the best roast beef and pulled pork that I think I’ve ever had. Good Job, Bob!

The club voted to provide a monetary grant and member assistance to provide knowledge and advice to the Iowa State University Antique Tractor Club. They purchase and restore a tractor each year and after displaying it at various shows, they auction it off to fund their next project. They have restored a John Deere 60 and a Minneapolis Moline ZTU. This year’s project is a Farmall H and they plan to restore it to factory condition. You may see the completed tractor at the RPRU this summer. It’s great to support young people learning and willing to keep our heritage alive.

Our 2012 National Winter Convention committees also met for continued planning and preparation. Registrations for the rooms, banquet and tours are coming in well and we expect a great crowd. If you haven’t registered when you read this, please plan to attend. We would love to see you in Coralville, IA on March 1-3. You can find the convention info on our website at www.ihccia.net.

May your winter and winter restoration projects go smoothly without unforeseen problems.

--Joe Neville, President

Chapter 8 Southeastern Pennsylvania

As this show season is winding down our members are keeping active. We finished our raffle in October and a young fellow who helped draw the tickets won the pedal tractor prize and pedaled away on it! Several of our very dedicated members made sure that the show tractors belonging to Rough & Tumble were winterized before the first sub zero temperatures. They have been asked to do some extra work on a TD6 that needs some work on one of its clutches. That may prove to be quite a winter project. Our next show is the Pennsylvania Farm Show in January where we hope to start our 2012 raffle. We are well under way in planning our May Chapter Show and working to make the Rough & Tumble Reunion in 2012 featuring IH a show to remember!

--Steven W. Lewis, Secretary

Chapter 9 Tennessee

Chapter #9 held their Winter Banquet and fourth quarter meeting on Dec. 3rd and elected new officers for 2012 and 3 new directors began a 3 year term. Due to our Chapter by-laws after a director has served a three year term they are required to step down for at least one year. Our new directors are: Andy Hood, Debbie Mitchell, and David Qualls. David Qualls will serve as President as Morgan Hood’s term has expired.

Our 2012 “Volunteer IH” show will be held on October 20-21 in Dunlap, TN. We invite everyone to attend. You can also keep up with our Chapter by visiting our website at tnchap9ofihc.com.

--David Qualls, President

Chapter 11 Michigan

Greetings from Michigan, fall is here, weather not to bad yet. Most crops are in, yields not to bad in most areas. We held our fourth quarter meeting in Sandusky, MI, A small turnout but a real good meal. An excellent meeting place was arranged by Gary Heberling, thanks to Gary and Debbie for all they did to set this up. Our next meeting will be in January 2012 in Coleman MI at a cub cadet store. There will be election of officers in Jan. In October several of our members attended the estate auction of Norval and Jean Poyser in Indiana. This couple will be missed, they were avid collectors of IHC tractors, cub cadets, trucks and many toys. A T-340 crawler and other implements will be going to an IHC museum in Michigan. The Metternick family who were long time friends with the Poysers bought several items for their Farmall Acres museum in Clarksville, MI. Winter Convention will be next, hope to see you in Iowa. Happy New Year to all, please be safe. Hope to see you at IHC events in the new year.

--Bill Hinga, Reporter

Chapter 15 Minnesota

Well we are in to winter here in Minnesota country. We have had below Zero on a couple of mornings. But I digress, so long as I have had my flu shot and a couple of meals of lutefisk, I can make it.

We had a fabulous meeting up at the Duane Grans family farm. The Olson family brought over part of the family’s collection of Farmalls also, so we had a good variety of tractors, equipment, and a couple of restored pickups.

Also there was a Farmall 400 there with only 20 hours on the tractor. Yes, only 20 hours, that is not a typo. It was bought brand new, brought home, parked in the shed and forgotten about. Everything is original, and our club members took a lot of photos, to help them restore their Farmall 400s.

Paul Hencshe, a club member, discovered he has number 1, 1568. He has owned this tractor for 20 years, and did not discover, until this fall that he had number 1 tractor. He did not get down and look at the serial number until after the Red Power roundup and then he came to me and we discovered that yes, it is number 1.

Also Don Ranzenberger has a very nice collection of wheatlands. A Super WD9, a 600, and 650 that are all diesels. Nothing very special about these tractors, except that they are all restored to original, and are show ready because they are stored in one of Don’s semi-trailers. They are in dust free conditions and no light gets on them. Man, do they shine.

Thank you all in Farmall land for your support and attendance at our Roundup in Minnesota. We will see you at the winter convention in Coralville, IA, and also the Red Power Roundup in Du Quoin, IL.

--Bruce Jensen, President

Chapter 17 Central Pennsylvania

The weather here in Central PA this past summer was one for the record books. We missed attending several shows because of all the rain and the mud it caused. Several members traveled to Minnesota for the Red Power Round Up. It was a long ride; however, it was enjoyed by all. Thanks Minnesota for a great show. We held our local show the weekend of July 4th. Everyone enjoyed a full weekend of activities. Although, our newly purchased IH Prototype building is not up and running as a museum yet, it was a place of worship for a local church, while they did some renovations. It was called “The Farmall Church”. It was also used by Hero Canine Consulting, LLC. They are an organization that trains dogs, for search & rescue and obedience. They lost their facility to the flood in September and needed a place to train, while their facility was being rebuilt. Our summer picnic at the farm of Ben (our President) and his wife Rhonda was enjoyed by all that attended. Our club hosted the 1st annual IH Fall Festival on October 22, 2011 at our IH Prototype building in Millville PA. We had a nice showing of tractors on display and we were all pleased to see some IH trucks make an appearance. This will be an annual event in the years ahead. We had lots of good food, entertainment and fun. We had people attend from near and far. Our last event for the year was our annual banquet and white elephant sale. The white elephant sale is a good fundraiser for the club and its lots of fun. Each member is asked to bring a wrapped gift and then it is auctioned off. You would be surprised, what you paid for. Until next year, I hope everyone has a healthy and safe New Year.

--Shirley M Bordner, Treasurer

Chapter 18 New England

Congratulations to Paul Hulse from Morris NY on winning the Chapter 18 raffle cub tractor. The Fall Banquet on October 16 was the successful end to the 2011 tractor season in New England. The winners of the raffles were drawn on this beautiful fall day. There were about sixty members and guests in attendance and were treated to a wonderful meal and a guest speaker with an IH back round.

Our show season was quite active this year, and the second half of the show season brought the club to shows in Dublin NH for the Granite State Gas and Engine Show, Kent CT, Shoreham VT and Mont Vernon NH. All of the shows were a great time other than the Farmall Hill show in Shoreham VT, due to the large amount of rain. Winter made a brief appearance on October 30th with parts of New England receiving amounts of snow up to 32". All of this snow created heavy tree limbs that could not withstand the pressure and downed power lines in many locations. Hundreds of thousands of New England were without power for up to a week. If this weather is any indication of our winter to come, a spring plow day will be a distant thought.

The last Directors meeting of the year will be held at Treasurer Gary Osborne's home in Norwell Ma on November 16 at 1pm.

Check out the Chapter 18 website to keep up to date on news and events at www.ihcne18.com we can also be reached at ihcnechapter18@yahoo.com .

--Matthew Petz, Director

Chapter 20 Ontario Canada

My how time marches on! Where has 2011 gone? Chapter 20 has concluded another successful year with well-attended shows, two plow days and our year end Fall Potluck.

Our active membership continues to make our chapter strong and viable. There are so many individuals that work tirelessly to organize and run our events that it is impossible to mention and thank them all individually. Thanks goes out of course to our membership who take in our organized events – it is done for your enjoyment. One thing that is becoming painfully obvious is the fact that as time marches on, it is more important to work hard in keeping International Harvester relevant. For most of us, 1985 was not really all that long ago! But for younger generations, 1985 is really ancient history! Think about this. If you know a nine or ten year old, they will not even recall the events of 9/11. How can we, as keepers of the history of Harvester, expect younger people to remember a company that so many have written off? Recent marketing has inundated children with only one option…. Green. Therefore, it is the challenge of all membership that has strong IH roots to introduce children, grand children, nieces or nephews to the legacy of Harvester. For many families, red equipment was, and remains, a means to turn a profit. Any encouragement or prompting for youth to take out a membership and/or get involved is a good step in preserving the proud history of International Harvester worldwide.

And while emailing, texting, or tweeting to your grandchildren about International Harvester, why not surf on over to our revamped website where you can check out past events pictures, coming events and post comments at www.ihc20.ca.

Chapter 20 wishes the best to all IH members in the coming New Year! Keep on movin’ with IH

--Mark Boersen, Reporter

Chapter 21 South Dakota

We in South Dakota finished off our 2011 season with our fall meeting held at the Jim and Christy Brewer home near Minneola, MN, on September 10 with 56 members attending. Jim had his IH tractors, equipment and Cub Cadets splendidly displayed on nicely groomed grass and under the shade of well trimmed trees. Christy meanwhile had her collection of memorabilia beautifully displayed throughout her house especially the basement. We congratulate them on a super display. The pot luck lunch was also a delicious experience. We even had an Iceland desert furnished by Christy’s sister who was visiting from Iceland.

South Dakota had several members attend the Cub-Arama along with the National IH Auction held at Fredericktown, MO, on September 23 and 24, 2011. They reported having a good time participating in the Cub-Arama, visiting with friends, and attending the auction.

We hope to be visiting with many of you at the Winter Convention in Iowa and Red Power Round Up at Du Quoin, IL.

We sincerely hope all our IH friends have a blessed holiday season and are enthusiastically looking forward to the 2012 show season. Happy New Year from Chapter 21.

--Wilbur Goehring, President

Chapter 22 Sweden

As always our club has had a busy summer. Activities started with the annual “Spring Days” in southern Sweden in May. Quite a crowd met up to see old tractors and implements in action, despite bad weather with wind and rain.

The next time Swedish IH fans got together was on Sweden’s National Day June 6. We call it the International Day, a day to drive and show our trucks to the general public. Today International is a more or less unknown make over here and especially young people believe that our Scouts, fire trucks and ambulances were manufactured by GM or in some cases Jeep Corporation.

During the summer months local rallies were arranged in various parts of Sweden, some of them open for Internationals only and some for veteran trucks of any brand. Our members also took part in the World Plowing Championship which was held in the middle of the country.

The main event in Europe this summer was “Trekkerfest” in Nordhorn, Germany, arranged September 13-14. It is of course expensive nowadays to drive from Sweden to Germany with “gas guzzlers” so some of our members preferred to go there without their trucks. With one exception: Martin Sjögren took the opportunity to show his latest gem, a C-1 pickup that he bought in Norway earlier this summer.

Johann Hood lives in Nordhorn and displayed his impressive collection of German-built tractors. There were also many Dutch participants with McCormick-Deering 10-20’s, often imported from the United States.

Altogether 600 IHC products were on display, plus a thousand tractors and implements of other makes.

--Taken from magazine, Alf Agdler, Editor

Chapter 23 Alabama

Alabama Chapter #23 held its fourth and final meeting of the year on a chilly October 1, at the relatively new Morgan County Fairgrounds show in Decatur. This show is coordinated by member #25, Larry Lemmond, and offers visitors vintage harvesting demonstrations for live crops such as peanuts, cotton, and sorghum cane as well as tractor and stationary engine displays.

Our dues collection month is November, so as dues collection for 2012 began, the membership count for Chapter #23 stood at 236, an all-time high. Our goal for the past several years has been to maintain a membership number of 200. So far, we have managed to be successful meeting and surpassing this goal.

President Sherman Roberts has announced that he will step down from the office following the Red Power Roundup in July of 2012. He has served as president since our chapter was formed 15 years ago, so holding an election for president will be a new experience for us. The plan is to accept nominations in early spring. After all nominations are received and candidates agree to serve, the directors will vote for their choice by secret ballot. We should have a new president to announce at our second meeting of the year at our State Show at Elmore in May. He will formally assume office after Sherman steps down in July

Sherman has been a great president for our chapter and has set a standard that future presidents can look to live up to. We thank him for his years of service and look forward to him remaining very active in all Chapter #23 endeavors.

At our meeting at Morgan County, three new directors were selected to begin serving on January, 1, 2012. They are Joe Criswell of Snead, AL in Blount County; Hal Hoaglin, of Cleveland in Blount County; and Sherman Roberts, of Jasper in Walker County. Our thanks go to the directors whose terms expire on December 31, 2011; Doys Jones, Preston Jones, and Larry Lemmond.

Our first meeting of 2012 will be at the Snead/CASE IH show in April, the second will be at Elmore (host of 2012 Alabama State Show) in May, the third at a new location, Tannehill State Park just west of Birmingham in July, and the fourth in October at Morgan County.

--Clay Nordan, Secretary/Treasurer

Chapter 25 Texas

Saturday, November 12, 2011: Sixty members and guests of Chapter 25 were in attendance as its annual fall meeting was held at Stone Creek Farm in Weston. TX. Bob Stone opened the gates and he and KR Withrow hosted our club. Tractors and equipment were displayed and set up for rides and driving, including a 656 Hydro, a 1468, 1912 auto wagons and a 1917 slope nose. There was an auction of various items brought by members as well.

Before our meeting began, a presentation on proper loading, weight restrictions and tie down requirements was given by Trooper Robert Smith of the Texas Commercial Vehicle Enforcement. Some 50 attendees listened as Trooper Smith related the rules and regulations to our needs when transporting our equipment across the Texas highways.

A very tasty Texas style BBQ lunch was provided. During lunch, we conducted our business meeting. Two directors were elected to fill expiring terms. Discussion to participate in an April show as one of the co-host clubs and motions were made and seconded to allow delegates to future meetings with the show coordinator to commit the club.

There was a very impressive display of International Harvester M1 rifles as well. Four M1’s were there, three of which were IH manufactured. One of these had been disassembled and all the correct IHC markings were identified. These three rifles are the most complete IHC weapons as you will see anywhere. At the end of the day, 10 or 12 members gathered at a range that had been prepared and fired several clips of ammo through an M1. Surprisingly, there were some pretty accurate shooters in the group. There was also a German Mauser and a Russian SKS that were there for comparison so they were fired as well.

The weather cooperated and it was a beautiful (but windy) day. Everyone had a great time. Thanks,

--Bob and KR, Reporters

Chapter 26 Min Dak

Greetings from Chapter 26! We have enjoyed a nice fall in western MN and North Dakota with little precipitation. It has given a lot of the farmers in the area a chance to get their crop out of the field without drying costs, and to get a lot of field work done before freeze up.

We held our fall meeting on November 12th in Kindred, ND. We drew the winner of our raffle tractor, pedal tractor and IH print. We gave away an IH 240 Utility this year and it was well received at the shows we attended. It really fit the bill for a hobby farmer, or IH collector to be a nice little tractor to own. The winner of the tractor this year is Harold Wolf from Marion, WI.

In review of this last year, our club had a good time at the Red Power Round Up in Albert Lea. Several of our members attended the show. I heard comments that they enjoyed the show, visiting with folks while selling raffle tickets and working in our booth.

We will hold our February meeting in Alexandria, MN on Saturday, February 11th, at 11:00 am.

--Nate Schlief, President

Chapter 27 Florida

Greetings fellow IHCC collectors. We are approaching the home stretch of a very exciting and busy year. Chapter 27 has successfully completed fifteen shows within the state and attended and exhibited in several shows out of state. We added five additional Fun Day events at our IH Club Center at Flywheeler Park in Fort Meade. Our fifth outstanding State Show at The Fourth Annual Historical Farmall Tractor Show was held at Stewart Paquette’s Buffalo Nickel Ranch in Leesburg in March. For the first time we exhibited tractors and engines in the spring Antique Car Show at the Daytona Beach International Speedway in March and held our Sixth Annual Fun Day at the Kennedy Space Center in April. We had Fun Days at Flywheeler Park in conjunction with other Flywheeler activities.

Chapter 27 show activities slowed down a little during the heat of summer with a few members just attending local events. It is also that season of the year when many of our “Sun Birds” hit the road to visit shows up north. Members have reported attending shows in GA, NC, VA, NY, CT, OH, IL, IN, and MN.

The 22nd IHCC Red Power Roundup held on the Freeborn County Fairgrounds in Albert Lea, Minnesota was a roaring success. Several Florida Chapter 27 members attended the show, exhibited tractors and vendor parts. We salute Minnesota Chapter 15 for all the hard work and effort that went into making this successful show a pleasant experience that we shall all long remember.

As fall approaches, we are getting back into the swing of things for the remainder of our show season. We participated in the Pioneer Days Festival on October 29th and 30th at Lake Wales and the Flywheeler 16th Annual Fall Fuel-Up on November 9th-12th. We will participate in the Fort Christmas Cracker Christmas event on December 3rd and 4th along with several Christmas Parades and two Christmas events at Flywheeler Park.

The 25th Annual Antique Engine & Tractor “Swap Meet” will be held at Flywheeler Park on January 18th–21st followed by the 20th Annual Antique Engine & Tractor Show on February 22nd-25th. The Pioneer Park Days Show will be held from February 29th thru March 4th at Zolfo Springs. Chapter 27’s State Show will be held on March 8th-11th at the Buffalo Nickel Ranch in Leesburg. On March 24th we will show at the All American Picnic at the Kennedy Space Center.

We have a very active schedule over the next four months with plenty to do and see. If you are planning to visit Florida, you are encouraged to visit one of our shows. Drive safely.

--Charles G. Stevenson, President

Chapter 30 Northwest

The fall season out here in the Pacific Northwest has been mild with some rain and a few cold mornings. The 15th of October Chapter 30 Directors and Officers had the annual fall Directors meeting at Gateway Inn Express in Vancouver, Washington. The past show season was discussed and plans made for our annual meeting the third Saturday of March, 2012. The officers for Chapter 30 for 2012 will be Ken Robison as Vice President, Tom Lundgren as Secretary-Treasurer and I will continue on as President. It is an honor to serve this great organization as its President.

Chapter 30 members will be attending the Willamette AG Expo at Albany, Oregon in mid November. For the first time Chapter 30 is planning on having a Christmas Party. John and Carolyn Coffee have volunteered John's shop as the site for the party. We are looking forward to having a great time.

Have a happy Holiday Season and be safe while working on those projects this winter.

--Larry Severance, President

Chapter 31 Louisiana

Greetings from Louisiana Chapter #31, we hope that you have had a great 2011 show season and will be having the opportunity to work on some “new” items for next season this winter.

We finished our show season with a great show the first weekend in November at the America’s Old Iron Museum in Bush, LA. The weather was perfect, the crowd was great and we had a wonderful turnout of old iron to look at!

One of Chapter 31’s members, Mr. Phillip Wright, donated a 1952 Farmall “H” to the chapter to be restored and raffled off. There are several chapter members working on this tractor now and hope that it will be ready to begin showing in January, 2012. Our state show will be held on Friday/Saturday, May 4/5, 2012. The winning ticket will be drawn on Saturday afternoon at our show.

Here is hoping that everyone has a safe, happy Christmas season and will be ready to get their old iron out for the shows next year!

--Buddy Banks, President

Chapter 32 Southern Illinois

Greetings to all International Harvester Collectors from Southern Illinois, home of the July 19, 20, and 21, 2012 Red Power Round Up, to be held in Du Quoin, Illinois.

Chapter 32 had excellent attendance at the National Auction/CUB-ARAMA held in Fredericktown, Missouri on September 22 – 24, 2011. If it weren’t for the Mississippi River and the “hoots and hollers,” it would be only 40 miles from this collector’s little farm to Fredericktown, or as they say, “As the crow flies.” This was the 10th Annual CUB-ARAMA Show.

At the time of this writing, the Chapter 32 Auction Committee is working on our annual auction, to be held at the Perry County Fairgrounds in Pinckneyville, Illinois on November 5, 2011.

The Chapter 32 Annual Christmas Party is scheduled for December 3, 2011. The Church Ladies at the St. Paul United Church of Christ put on an outstanding meal.

Sorry for the shortness of this report. But I have to go out to the barns and check anti-freeze. The weatherman says it may freeze tonight.

We hope you all have a safe and happy holiday season.

--David A. von Yeast, Secretary and Reporter

Chapter 34 Cub Cadets of the Northwest

Sorry for not being here for awhile we are reorganizing and hope that we can have an article from now on. We just had our first fall plow day at the Beacon Hotel corn maze the week after it maze was over on Nov 5Th. We had very nice weather and everyone plowed all day long except for lunch at the Beacon Hotel and plan on making this a regular event. We also signed up 13 new members. We have a forum/web site now and where you can see pictures of all our plow days and other information. chapter34.com This spring on April 28, 2012 we will have our 4Th Annual Plow Day and Show at the Beacon Hotel, 231 Beacon Rd. Re, Pa.16053 and everyone is welcome. Stop by and help us have fun playing in the dirt.

--(Wally) Walter Whitfield, Reporter

Chapter 35 New York

Hello from New York State. On behalf of all at Chapter 35, I want to begin by wishing readers a bright and prosperous 2012.

Our first show of the New Year will be the Annual New York State Farm Show at the state fairgrounds, Syracuse, NY, February 23-25, 2012. A popular attraction here is noted radio and television farm reporter, Max Armstrong.

A highlight of 2011 was our state show that has become known as Red Power Charge. Red Power Charge 2011 was combined with the 12th Annual Roseboom, NY Antique Power Days. The August 20-21 show took place with a good showing of antiques and IH tractors. Of special interest was a WD-40 tractor, the second one ever built. A Sunday parade offered an opportunity for all to drive their tractors and show them. We vintage tractor folks love to eat, and this was the place to do it. A pancake breakfast on both days got everyone started. A Pot Luck Supper, chicken barbecue and more fulfilled appetites. Many thanks to all members that made the Roseboom show a success.

Our 7th Annual IHC New York State Red Power Charge will be hosted by the Sanborn Area Historical Society Farm Festival on July 28-29, 2012. This is at the western end of NYS, midway between Niagara Falls and Lockport, NY.

Other shows and events are listed on our website calendar. Directors and officers for the coming year can also be found by visiting us at www.IHCC35NY.com

Our Annual Christmas Party continues to be our big social event of the year. The Brockport, NY Elks Lodge gathering will have come and gone by the time this report hits the street. In closing, be careful out there and stay safe.

--Gene Preston, Director/Reporter

Passing of Michael Bowen

Michael Bowen passed away unexpectedly at his home at Bradford-on-Avon in Wiltshire on 8 September, aged 81.

Michael joined the International Harvester Company of Great Britain (IHGB) in 1954, having previously worked on a farm in Devon. One of his first assignments as a junior member of the marketing department was working with the team that developed and put the IH B-250 into production at Bradford.

He served in a number of marketing positions within the company during the 1950s and 60s and became Manager of Product Training in January 1970, a position he held until 1981. After leaving IHGB in 1983, he worked for Watveare, the Westbury, Wiltshire-based distributor of Deutz-Fahr equipment, and also the Agricultural Training Board, before becoming an agricultural consultant, specialising in overseas training.

Even in retirement his enthusiasm for International Harvester – the company and its equipment – remained as strong as ever and he was always willing to share his memories with others, including the readers of CLASSIC TRACTOR. Our thoughts are with his wife Sheena and daughters Sally, Alex and Claire at this sad time.

--Rory Day, Editor, Classic Tractor

Michael wrote several articles for Harvester Highlights over the years and was working on another one that we will never get to read. He will be missed by all who admired him or his articles.

--Darrell