 Fall-der-All 2009 Photo Gallery
In a way it was a weekend of “mini’s” at the 2009 Fall-der-All celebration held in Froelich Saturday and Sunday, Sep. 26 and 27.
On Saturday, Jim Cowell’s collection of mini-grain trucks, and the new building to display them, was dedicated. Sunday brought a record 33 mini-pullers with their lawn & garden tractors, ATV’s and motorcycle engines to see who could pull the farthest.
And, on both days, exhibitors lined up under great fall weather to display their vintage farm equipment including a restored 1923 Waterloo Boy, brought to Froelich by Kenny Kass of Dunkerton. Kass is the premier restorer of Waterloo Boys and had exhibited at Froelich a number of years ago. “You folks have certainly made some nice additions since I was here before,” Kass noted. The Waterloo Boy tractor was manufactured from 1913 to 1923, the direct descendant of the Froelich tractor invented in 1892 at Froelich. 
Music and Poppin’ Engines
On Saturday night Little Dale and the Legends from Waukon delighted country music fans at the annual barn dance. In addition to live music for the barn dance, the barbershop quartet,” Beyond Logic”, performed on Saturday, while Billy Roe, also from Waukon, turned his restored-to-perfection 1958 Massey Ferguson tractor into a country bandstand of polka music.
On Sunday afternoon more than $2,000 in prizes, donated by local merchants, was raffled off. John Wagner of Monona won first prize, $250 in stimulus cash and Jason and Jill Martins, also of Monona, won the pedal push tractor donated by Bodensteiner Implement. “Our daughter, Olivia, who is four, will really enjoy this,” Jason said with a big grin. Bodensteiner also brought a display of new John Deere farm equipment straight from the showroom floor to the event. New Building Dedicated
Jim Cowell, a local trucker from McGregor, recently donated his collection of three mini-grain trucks to the Froelich Foundation and a display building to protect them from the weather was built this summer by Robin and Mark Stoffel, lifetime members of the Froelich Foundation. “This is really great,” Cowell said as the ribbon was cut. “There were a lot of people interested in these trucks, but I wanted Froelich to have them.” The mini-trucks (plus Jim threw in a mini-jeep for good measure) will be the centerpiece for a transportation display on how Clayton County farmers moved their products from the farm gate to market over the years, adding to the visitor educational and enjoyment experience at Froelich.
 Pulling for Froelich
Sunday, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. small engines roared as 33 mini-pullers from the Pleasant Valley Mini Pullers Club tested their machines on a new track installed along old Highways 18 and 52 at the south end of the Froelich museum property.
The mini-pullers competed in four classes and the winners for each class, with the longest pull, are: Lawn & Garden -Charlie Schultz; ATV - Charlie Schultz and Terry Thomas (tied). Bob Slaughter placed first in both the Motorcycle Engines and 4-cyclinder Engines with full pulls in both classes.
The mini-pull also featured two ladies pulling. Plus, a Case steam engine pull by Vernon Oakland, of Clermont, thrilled fans with a full-track pull with his half scale model 1910 Case steam engine, blowing its shrill whistle along the way.
“Froelich is a great place for this event,” said Bob Slaughter, vice president of the mini-pullers club. A follow-up pull is planned for October 11th at Froelich.
The pulling event was dedicated to Kathy Knospe, an event announcer who recently passed away.
Other Displays and Demos
Other displays included a range of tractor brands, farm equipment and engines, along with pumpkins, vegetables, rural souvenirs and collectibles. The Jim and Greta Donlon family gave old time apple press demonstrations, with blacksmith demonstrations by Larry VanNetta and Jeff Barrett. The Monona Woodcarvers Club gave demonstrations and presented their crafts in the restored railroad depot.
Fall-der-All features a wide variety of displays, exhibits and demonstrations. It is held annually on the last weekend in September by the Froelich Foundation.
Froelich is the home of the first gasoline-powered farm tractor that drove forward and backward. Invented in 1892 by John Froelich, the Froelich Tractor became today’s John Deere tractor works in Waterloo and worldwide. The Froelich Foundation maintains the museum and tourist attractions at Froelich, www.froelichtractor.com |
