Farm Couple Stages Their Own Tractor Show

Farm Couple Stages Their Own Tractor Show AG WORLD 30-1-22 "I've always wanted to have my own tractor show so I could do everything my own way," says Gerald Drennan. That's why, in 2003, he started "Reminisce Days" on his 7-acre farmstead near Danville, Ill. The annual 3-day event is free to the public and held on the last weekend in July. Drennan's wife Anna says that in addition to Gerald's antique tractor collection, friends bring their tractors, garden tractors, lawn mowers, antique plows, one-cylinder engines and even some antique cars. "It's just a fun thing. Anybody who has anything old that they want to show off can just bring it up and display it." Gerald says that no one runs the engines during the show because of insurance liability issues. Anna says visitors are welcome to bring out lawn chairs and just sit around and reminisce. "That's what it's all about," she says. Gerald also displays and raffles off 1/16th scale wooden tractors that he makes. "Anything that's on that tractor in that year gets on that tractor," he says. Gerald also sells them for about $50 each. "I've got orders for about 25 to 30 right now." This year, their church group put on a little show in the afternoon, singing country gospel. Next year, the Drennans plan to add an ice cream parlor. Visitors can sign the guest book. Anna says they've had visitors from England and Switzerland attend because they heard about it while in the area. "We don't have any idea how many people come through," says Anna. "We don't charge admission or take head counts," adding that she suspects they had between 1,500 to 2,000 people attend last year's show. Gerald, a lifelong farmer who began collecting Deere tractors at age 16, now has 50 or more of them including a 1955 Deere Model 70 Diesel, a 1959 Deere Model 820 diesel, and a 1958 Deere Model 630 all-fuel. "It's one of 18 that got out of the factory without a serial number," adding that it's the only one of them that's known to still exist. His collection of "anything Deere" extends "wall to wall" in his basement where he still has the toys he played with as a child including a steam engine toy. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Anna & Gerald Drennan, 26180 State Route 1, Danville, Ill. 61834 (ph 217 759-7253).

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