Orange Spectacular

[mmeyer]

A local annual event is this weekend so I thought I'd check it out with a friend. It's called the "Orange Spectacular". It's a huge Allis Chalmers show. People come from all around the country to show and see Allis Chalmers tractors of all years and models. It was interesting to see all of the restored tractors and all of the Allis crazy people there are.

[LMITOUT]

Are you still seeing orange? I was out there a few years back and it's pretty amazing to see. Couldn't have been a nicer weekend for them.

[MN Shutterbug]

Amazing what trips some peoples' triggers.

[MARINERMAGNUM]

Awesome Mike! Two tractor posts in one day? Must be a record for us hicks!

[Paul]

A few years ago, at the Rollag Midwest Minnesota Steam thrashers Runion (labor day weekend every year) they had a huge Allis Chalmers special. Hundreds if not thousands of Orange Meanies. They do a different breed of machine each year, as a special but I think the AC year was the biggest.

[mmeyer]

Thanks everyone. It was a pretty neat site. There had to be several hundred or more tractors there. I'm not a farmer and don't know the first thing about tractors but I like stuff like that.

[Steve Foss]

Thanks for posting that, Mike. Nice images.

We had an A-C on my grandparents dairy farm in Wisconsin, as well as a Farmall "H". It's amazing how nuts people can be for restored old tractors.

[Dbl]

I just love the old tractors!

[dockothebay]

Great photos Mike - we have a friend who attends the Orange Spectacular every year, I'll have to share the thread with him. My Dad restored an old Farmall - the first tractor his Dad ever owned. I have some kind of cool pictures of it before & after, I'll have to see if I can dig them out.

[Steve Foss]

Jackie, the Farmall H was the main workhorse on the dairy farm of my grandparents. The H had the front wheels tight together in the middle, while some other Farmall models had them spread out.

Golly, tractor talk. Makes me feel like it's 1973 again and time to get out there and work the hay fields! It's about time to cut, rake and bale the second crop of hay in southern Wisconsin.

[dockothebay]

I do believe it was an H! My Grampa had a "truck farm" in what is now Maplewood. He grew lots of veggies and trucked them into the Farmers Market in St. Paul each weekend. They also had chickens and I think a few goats. My folks and I lived with them until I was 3 and then later Grampa lived with us for a few years. We didn't have a farm, but had a huge garden and I still remember Grampa driving that tractor around our place - I picked plenty of corn, beans, strawberries, aspargus, squash & cucumbers and even collected eggs and plucked chickens - never got to do the baling bit Ahh the good ol' days!!

[mmeyer]

I'm glad I could help bring back some good memories with this thread. It's always nice to think about things like that isn't it?

[dockothebay]

Dang - I should have looked at the pictures first - Dad's tractor has a big ol' A on the front! Anyway, sorry to have hijacked this thread -- When I can get a few of the old pictures uploaded I'll start a new one! It is fun to think about though..