Two new directors were named to the Froelich Foundation board and a new slate of officers were elected at the foundation’s annual meeting Sunday, February 14, held at Maggie’s Diner near Giard.

Lisa Donlon of rural Monona was elected president, Charlie McClintock of Garnavillo was elected vice president, Denny Eilers of Luana was named treasurer, and Ken David of Froelich will serve his second term as secretary.

Lisa Donlon and Lance Donlon were elected by the general membership to serve on the seven-member foundation board. They replace Deidre Vick-Froehlich of Marquette and John Schilling of Colesburg, who completed their terms. Board members are elected by the general membership to serve five-year terms and officers are then elected annually by the board of directors.

Other members serving on the board are Alan Feldman and Ivan Meisner, both of Farmersburg.

Other topics presented at the annual meeting included the 2009 Highlights and Financial Reports. Ken David presented the 2010 Mini-Pull schedule, which consists of a total of nine events to be held this summer, with the first starting on May 23.

“This is something new to Froelich, but we had success with it at Fall der All last September, so we’re going to launch it on a widespread basis,” said David. “Mini-pulls are catching on, and you don’t need a lot of money to participate and compete,” he added. The Froelich Foundation and Pleasant Valley Mini-Pullers Club are co-sponsors.

The Froelich Foundation is a non-profit organization with members in Clayton County and around the country. The foundation board is the management team that guides annual activities and maintains the Froelich Museum, attractions and grounds. It also plans the annual Fall der All celebration the last weekend in September. Froelich is open from Memorial Day to Labor Day from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. six days a week (closed on Wednesday for grounds maintenance).

Froelich Foundation to Hold Annual Meeting Feb. 14th

The Froelich Foundation will hold its annual meeting on Sunday, February 14, 2010, at Maggie’s Diner, located east of Giard on U.S. Highway 18.

The meeting starts at 1 p.m. and includes the election of two new board members along with a review of annual business and financial reports for 2009.

“We will also outline our program of teaming up with the Pleasant Valley Min-Pullers to hold a series of mini-tractor pulls at Froelich his summer,” said Ken David, secretary, Froelich Foundation board of directors. “This event was a success at Fall der All last September, and we think it’s a great attraction to continue in 2010.”

The Froelich Foundation, with 400 members scattered across the country, is a non-profit organization established to maintain and preserve the Froelich Museum, tourist attractions and grounds. The museum is open to the public from Memorial Day through Labor Day from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. (except Wednesdays).

Funding for the Froelich Foundation comes from donations, scheduled events, museum admissions, grants and memberships. The annual meeting is open to foundation members and the public. Members who would like to serve on the board need to attend and make a short presentation on themselves before the election.

The Froelich Tractor, invented in 1892 by John Froelich, is the forerunner of today’s John Deere tractor works in Waterloo, Iowa. For more information, visit the web site at www.froelichtractor.com.

Mini-Trucks, Mini-Pulls, Waterloo Boy
Highlight Froelich Fall-der-All Event

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 11^th 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.

Froelich Fall-der-All Features ‘Mini-Pull’ 

There’s a whole lot of both old and new at this year’s Fall-der-All celebration in Froelich on September 26 and 27.

On the new side of the coin, a “Mini-Pull” has been scheduled for Sunday the 27th at 11 a.m.  “This is really different. We’re having mini-rods, ATVs, quads and garden tractors square off in this event,” said Ken David, secretary, Froelich Foundation board of directors.

“This is a first for us, and we’re really excited about it,” he added. “It’s going to be a lot of fun.”  David, who lives in Froelich, said the Mini-Pull is being coordinated by the Pleasant Valley Mini Pullers club.

Other activities include machinery displays, blacksmith and apple press demonstrations, along with carving demonstrations by the Monona Woodcarvers. Kids can enjoy barrel and mini-truck rides.

A barn dance, featuring Little Dale and the Legends, takes place Saturday night from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. Polka music will be provided by Billy Roe both days and the Beyond Logic Barbershop Quartet will perform Saturday from noon to 1 p.m. Also on Saturday, a Concertina on the Front Porch will be held by Bob Zwirlein from 1 to 3 p.m.

The lunch stand will be open in the Froelich barn both days, with fresh sandwiches and more than a shelf full of homemade pies. A raffle drawing with $2,000 in prizes donated by local merchants will be Sunday at 3 p.m. Grand prize this year is $250.00 in stimulus cash.

The new Jim Cowell mini-grain-truck display building will also be dedicated and open to visitors for the first time.

Admission to Fall-der-All includes all scheduled activities and events for both days plus touring the Froelich General Store and Tractor Museum where visitors can watch a 20-minute video of the John Froelich tractor, which led to today’s John Deere tractor company in Waterloo.

The Froelich Foundation for the Preservation of Tractor History is a non-profit organization with more than 400 members nationwide and conducts Fall-der-All as its annual fundraising event the last weekend in September. 

Glenda Bodensteiner, left, and Robin Stoffel display the Grand Prize in the Froelich Foundation's annual Fall-der-All raffle. Bodensteiner, of Postville, is a tour director at Froelich and Stoffel, from the Dubuque area, is a Fall-der-All volunteer. The two-day Fall-der-All celebration runs September 26th and 27th.           

Photo by Denny Eilers.

Froelich Barn Quilt Depicts Original 1892 Tractor  

“I absolutely love barn quilts,” said Sheryl Mielke, “and felt the Froelich barn really needed one. We brainstormed with the board of directors last summer and the idea of using the Froelich tractor popped up. I think it’s just perfect, especially displaying it in antique colors,” she added.

Sheryl coordinated the final design with Steve Oden of Oden’s Sign Service in Waukon, then Oden created the quilt. He painted it on two separate 4’ by 8’ metallic sign panels. The final size, 8’ by 8’, is readily seen from U.S. Highways 52 and 18.

Chad Davis, a farmer from Luana, and Russ Bries, a carpenter from Kruse & Bries Construction in Monona, teamed up to install the quilt, first fastening a wood frame to the barn, then fastening the barn quilt to the frame. Davis provided the lift.

The quilt is on the south end of the Dettmann Dairy Barn, which was moved to Froelich three years ago to add more display space for the growing exhibits at the Froelich Museum and also to serve as an events center.

The museum and its exhibits, including a general store, one-room country school, railroad depot, blacksmith shop and more are open to the public six days a week (closed on Wednesday) from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. until Labor Day weekend.

The Froelich Foundation is a non-profit organization of more than 400 members around the country dedicated to preserving the history of the Froelich tractor.

Sheryl Mielke donated the new barn quilt to the Froelich Foundation. She and her husband, Wayne, operate Mielke’s Quarry near Spook Cave. The quilt was installed on Thursday, May 28. Oden Sign Service, in Waukon, designed and painted the barn quilt.