February 29th, 2020 was a special day. Not only was it a celebration of Leap Year but It was a special day at the George Schaaf Museum. GICG members who attended were guests of George and of Will County Thresherman’s for the day. It truly is a treat to see one of none’s restored to their glory. Imagine living in the early 20th Century seeing these giant Prairie tractors roaming the fields and threshing grain. George is well known for his ability to restore these giants. Many were on display for us to see but we were also able to see an Avery (I believe) in mid restoration. He and Bill do most of the restorations right there at the Museum. The machinery to restore these giants is almost as interesting as the machines themselves. I have posted some additional pictures of Facebook.
On January 25th, 2020, Ron Lukow chaired a meeting of the area pullers setting forth the additional rules for 2020 and the locations and dates. The only major change is the elimination of the July 4th date at this time. I will bring to you dates and locations soon. Our guest speaker for our February 19th meeting will be Michael Perry from Kinder Morgan. Michael will give us a presentation on Pipeline Safety. Jerry Snedecore helped arrange the presentation. Thee following message comes from Ann Roach and Chuck Quick: Thank You, Thank You, Thank You
The following businesses donated items to be given to the members at the Christmas party last month (December). AHW John Deere donated hats and calendars. Dave Elliott Insurance donated calendars. Kankakee County Farm Bureau donated calendars. Diamond Brothers Insurance donated calendars. Weber Printing donated paper tablets. Soil Biotics donated cups, cup holders and tablets. Herscher Bank donated calendars, a duffel bag, seat pad, umbrella and file tote. Quick Mowing donated key chains. Thank you to Chuck Quick for his time and effort to get these items for us. Please thank these businesses for their generous donations. On February 29th (leap year), CIGC has been invited by Will County Threshermen’s to attend a tour of George Schaaf’s Collection. This is a rare opportunity to see one of none Prairie Tractors and to see how they are rebuilt in his own shop. Don’t miss this opportunity.
The winner of the 4020 John Deere pedal tractor is Roger Shumard of Rockfield, IN. He and his wife purchased their tickets at the 50 Years of Progress Show. He was thrilled to get the pedal as he collects pedals and will add it to his collection. The Shumards were gracious enough to meet me at the K&H Truck stop in Gilman, to receive their pedal tractor. I think it is going to a great home.
A great big thank you goes out to Jerry and Linda Tibbs of Topeka, IL for donating our 2020 raffle pedal tractor. It is an International 1066 model that appears to be original and needs nothing. The raffle tickets are printed and ready for our members to sell. Again, thanks so much for the pedal and donation to the Club.
Plan ahead for some fun. CIGC was invited by Will County Threshermen to attend a tour of George Schaff’s collection on February 29th, 10 am. Afterward, we will go to Aurelio’s Pizza, in Frankfort, IL. For those of you who have not been, this is a rare opportunity to see a collection of some of the finest tractors in the region. You will also see his shop where the one of nones are brought back to life. Don’t miss this opportunity.
Reply
Hello Members and Friends,
On Thanksgiving Day, I emailed a Thanksgiving greeting to everyone that has an email address.
It read: Hello Members and Friends, I’m thinking about all of you today and hope that every one of you can sit back and enjoy this Holiday with your Family and Friends. Let’s enjoy what we have and be thankful for it. Happy Thanksgiving to all of You!!!
I wanted to be sure that everyone without email receives this greeting even though it’s after the fact. Now, Thanksgiving is a year away again and it’s time to get ready for Christmas and New Year’s. It’s amazing how fast time flies as we get older. When I was as kid, time seemed to stand still. But we all know there’s still 24 hours in a day, 7 days in a week and 365 days in a year. It could be we all shifted down a few gears and move a little slower!! Whatever the case may be, enjoy every minute of every day!! During this Holiday season please be sure to keep all of our Members and Friends who are having heath issues in your Prayers. A card or a phone call may help them feel a little better or a rough day go by faster. I hope to see all of You at the CIGC Christmas party December 11th, 2019 @ 6:30 PM at the Herscher Legion. Be safe!
Sincerely,
Dave Wehrmann
Most of you are aware that the recent election of Directors took place at the November meeting. All of the Directors chose to return to service for 2020 and all of the Directors were reappointed to their respective positions. Let us thank them all for the time and effort that each have given in the past and show them the support they need to continue fueling the Central Illinois Green Club. The List of Directors and Offices is included on the letter. On November 23rd, many of you chose to participate in our GICG field trip to the Earl D. Schoeffner Farm Museum, Momence and on to the Graham House Museum. I am told that everyone attending enjoyed the trip and many went on to Tony’s
Pizza, Peotone for lunch.
On December the 4th, Directors and Ride the River Committee members will meet at 6:30 pm for a light supper and first meeting of the Committee for the 2020 RTR. The meeting will be at the Long Ranch 3550N 5000 W Rd., Kankakee. If you would like to join the Committee, see our President Dave and come join us. On December 11th, GICG members and guests will meet at the Herscher Legion Hall, 102 S. Oak St., Herscher, IL at 6:30 to share fellowship of the Christmas Season, have a holiday meal provided by Lestina’s, and participate in a silent and a live auction. Please bring an unwrapped item for the silent auction. Those items will benefit GIGC directly. And I know there are good cooks out there who may bring baked goods for our benefit. Herscher Historical Society will also be our Honored Guests for the evening.
Jerry and Linda Tibbs have been gracious and have presented CIGC with an International 1066 series pedal tractor to be raffled off at our 2020 Christmas Party on December 16th, 2020. The pedal tractor is in great condition and will require nothing. I will have it for inspection at the Christmas Party. Each year our Club has gained significant value from the raffle and it gets our name out there, something people can touch. CIGC thanks Jerry and Linda very much forgiving CIGC this opportunity and very nice gift. Thank you.
Craig
The first order of business is to thank everyone who sent cards, letters, emails, Facebook messages and to those who visited during my recent illness. I need to publicly thank my care taker and best friend Jan. I also need to thank Chuck Quick for taking care of my place while he is taking care of Cathy. Thanks Chuck. And last but not least, Mark Chapman whom without, I might not be here to thank any of you. Thank you Mark, I owe you a really big one. Have a wonderful Christmas and Holiday Season and be thankful for all the friends we all have at Central Illinois Green Club.
PS. John Fulton and I attended the 2019 Kankakee Community College Foundation annual meeting on October 17th at KCC. The Foundation, established in 1969, raises monetary and in-kind gifts to present opportunities for students who likely are in need of assistance – namely scholarships to further their education. The new KCC President was introduced to the Foundation members, Mr. Michael Boyd, Ph. D. Our scholarship for those in the Agriculture and Horticulture areas were presented to Allison Pree and Juanita Welter. Ms. Pree sat at our table and introduced herself. She seemed to be a very worthwhile recipient. Ms. Welter was not able to attend. Some of the students spoke of their gratitude as recipients. I was very proud of Central Illinois Green Club to be able to help those wanting to further themselves. We are a part of a very good thing.
Hello Friends. It’s that time of year again that we’re all looking forward to the many holiday get togethers. Whether it be with family, at the workplace or with club members it’s what we do. As adults we remember those days as a kid how hard it was to wait for each page to flip on the calendar.
Ah yes, finally it’s November it won’t be long now, candy, turkey, ham, dressing, presents. That’s right you all know you thought about the candy first or was it presents? Hmm!
Anyway, now that our mouths are watering, DO NOT forget CIGC potluck November 20th @ 6:30pm Bonfield Lions Club Hall.
See You there!!
Sincerely Dave Wehrmann
Hello members, friends and guests!
By now, everyone should have had some time to catch their breath after another fast paced and busy summer
Between family activities, club meetings, county fairs, farm shows, tractor pulls, tractor rides and plow days, there wasn’t much time to rest.
Even so, I don’t think any of us would want it any other way. I want to thank our members, their families and all of our friends who volunteered and or contributed in some other way to help make these events possible. It didn’t matter which event it was, all the adult and kids had smiles on their faces.
A big THANK YOU to Rodney Schwark for your hospitality, donating a great meal, your time, farmland and facilities to make the event a huge success.
I also want to thank the Herscher Historical Society for their participation to help make the event a great joint venture.
We had six new members join our cub and met with a lot of new friends. So, here we are in October with many more things to do. As the fall harvest is just about to begin, lets all keep SAFETY in mind. Don’t forget the kids this month. Trick or treat time is just a few weeks away. Atten all cooks!! Get that recipe book or file out. We need pass around dishes and deserts for our November 20th Pot Luck dinner. Last but not least, get your shopping pants on!! We need items for the Christmas Party fund raiser on December 11th. Handmade items are always weekend. See you all at the October 16, 2019 meeting, 7:00 pm at the Bonfield Lions Club.
Sincerely Dave Wehrmann
Our next event is Rodney’s Plow day, September 7th, coffee and donuts at 8:30 am, plowing starts at 9:00. We need an RSVP from you 815-263-7008. Call my phone for a head count for food. This is important! We will plow or Show or sit around and talk rain or shine. The Herscher Historical will also provide a bake sale fund raiser at Rodney’s.
A great Big thank you goes out to Chuck Quick who managed the CIGC display at the 2019 Kankakee County Fair and to those who brought tractors and equipment. We should be very proud to be in the face of our Community in such a good way. Thanks Chuck!
The Feature Column will return next month. I thought I would share with you a few pictures from our events and give you some pointers on Half Century. The Olde Time arm Show, Historic Farm Days, Will County Thresherman’s and The CIGC Veteran’s Ride have come and gone for the summer. The events have been plentiful, warm and well attended. The Barnyard Class Pulls have been well attended too. There are still a lot of events left for the summer so get out and enjoy them. If you haven’t registered for the Herscher Labor Day Parade, please do so. It’s a place where CIGC is always welcome and our neighbors love to see us.
I hope that many of you take advantage of the Half Century of Progress Show. A Show of this magnitude is in our back yard and we are part of the event. The Show begins on Thursday August 22nd and runs through Sunday the 25th. The Show opens each day at 7 am followed by the raising to the “World’s Largest Flag” at 8 am. The Field demonstrations begin each day at 8:30 am. Where the demonstrations are will be is posted each day at Hangar 2 (that is where you register you and your equipment, attend a Safety Meeting and receive your entry day passes). If you are not bringing equipment, walk in entry is $15 per day or $30 for a 4-day pass, under 12 is free. There is a one-time fee of $30 for Gators and carts even if you are an exhibitor. As in the past exhibitors will enter into the North gate. You must have your wrist band to enter without cost after your initial entry. There is exhibitor camping from the North end for $40 for the entire time as long as there is room. The improved camping is full as of last week. The tractor Ride with Max is on Thursday 8am sharp and will return around noon. You must preregister by going to the website for a form and getting it to Bonnie Marcotte.
At 4:30 Thursday, Friday and Saturday there will be tractor pulls. You will note that this is much earlier in order that more contestants can partake and that you don’t have to find your car in the dark. The broom guy and check planter guy are both returning over by the North entrance. Jolene Brown, an entertainer will perform at 10 am Thursday and Friday. She is the “Holy Crap, I married a Farmer” lady.
No riders will be allowed anywhere on the field unless there is a seat. The exception is during the Parade there may be some allowed. Remember 5 mph is the speed limit on conveyances, the little blue lights are expensive so don’t run them over, if you spill fuel, tell someone, do you best not to hit pedestrians and have the best time you can. The Airport will close to flights from Monday the 19th to Monday the 26th. Please respect their property, we want to come back again in 2 years.
Our trailer and Olde Time Farm Show Trailer will be the first thing on the right as you come in as a spectator. If you have some time to volunteer it would be greatly appreciated. I will try and keep the cooler full of water so, stop by and say Hi! Get a map! You can print a map and a schedule from the website or get one at the entry points. It is big and there are lots of things to see. If you tune to 89.9 FM Radio, you can get traffic reports, changes in schedules and special announcements such as weather statements. It is a valuable tool. Lastly, have a great time and make new friends.
2017 Show Stats: There were 1405 Exhibitors registered, 2352 pieces of equipment from 26 States. There were 772 people who attended the Safety meeting.
By the time you receive this the Covered Bridge Ride and Olde Time Farm Show have already occurred. I need to tell you from my experience that The Covered Bridge Ride was as good or better than any other year I have been to. The weather was warm but tolerable, the areas we drove were very nice and the bridges as always are a thrill to drive through. We need to thank the Covered Bridge Association and the Joe Warters family for putting on a great event as they always do. The food was good and the company was excellent and I am looking forward to next year already. PS 153 registered/ 150 showed.
The Olde Time Farm Show was also warm this year but there was a good showing of tractors and of course of the David Bradley nameplate. It was great fellowship in the shade and the tractor pulls on Sunday were a big draw. CIGC provided Tractor Games on Saturday afternoon and provided a bit of fun too. The winner of the Slow Race was a very young 6 yoa) driver Mr. Liam Gaus in a ¼ scale Rumley Oil Pull. The bucket Challenge was won by Les Piper on his 60 John Deere. I need to thank everyone who helped with the Tractor Games and all the volunteers who helped at the Club trailer. When we all work together it means a lot.
Historic Farm Days will occur from July 11 thru the 14 at the Club grounds in Penfield, IL This year’s feature are the 1458 and 1568 V8 IH tractors. It will also feature the 80th anniversary of the H & M tractors. This show also celebrates the 25 Anniversary of the Chapter 10 IH Collectors Club of Illinois. Field demonstrations daily, tractor pulls, fireworks, parades and much, much more. There is an International 856 Wheatland for raffle too. Only 250 tickets will be sold at $100 each. Their tx number is 217-595-5000.
July 18th thru the 21st will be the Will County Thresherman’s Association show at the Spiess Farm located on US Rte. 52 just East of Wilton Center. They are featuring Oliver, White and Cletrac. There is also a tractor pull there as well as farming demonstrations of wheat threshing and plowing. Always a good time and yes, our trailer will be there and yes, we need people to man (or woman) it. More info is at steamshow.org. PS the 7th Annual Vintage Tractor Ride will be held on July 20th sponsored by the Peotone Educational Foundation who supports the Ag program at Peotone High School. The cost is $65 and leaves the WCTA Show at 8:00 am sharp and includes a pork chop dinner.
Manteno Veteran’s Ride will occur on August the 10th. As usual we will have coffee and donuts before leaving the Evans Farm at 8:30. Another contingent will leave from Jim Morgan’s in Peotone. Please note the change in the date!
Half Century of Progress runs from August 22nd through 25th. This year’s theme is Harvest Brigade. If you can pick with it or cut with it or reap with it, you can display it. There will be field demonstrations daily, parades, parts and collectibles for sale and you will be able to see most any kind of farm item in operation each day. There is a tractor
ride on Thursday but you must sign up ahead of time. The giant flag returns too with a formal raising of the flag each day. CIGC will share the very first spot as you come in the gate to sell our wares with Olde Time Farm Show. We need volunteers from Thursday on to help man (or woman) the trailer. You can find out a whole lot more by going to www.halfcenturyofprogress.com