DYERSVILLE, Iowa — The National Farm Toy Museum will honor its 2011 National Farm Toy Hall of Fame inductees in a ceremony Nov. 4, kicking off events for Toy Farmer’s National Farm Toy Show.
The 2011 honorees join a group of 34 others, beginning with Fred and Gertrude Ertl and Claire and Cathy Scheibe. There is a complete listing at www.nationalfarmtoymuseum.com/halloffame.cfm.
Purpose
The purpose of the National Farm Toy Hall of Fame is to recognize those people who in a positive manner have given of their time and talents to the forwarding of the farm toy hobby.
For their dedication to the farm toy hobby, Daniel Gottman and Rick and Linda Larsen will be inducted this year into the National Farm Toy Hall of Fame.
Gottman, of Quincy, Ill., created Gottman Toys in 1982. Working with companies, Gottman used model toys to promote their brands. One such successful partnership was with Kinze Manufacturing.
Gottman worked to promote the farm toy hobby through the Mark Twain Great River Toy Show, which he helped establish in 1985. In 2005, the National Tractor Pullers Association awarded Gottman Toys manufacturer of the year, for its quality pulling tractor replicas.
Gottman died Aug. 26, 2011.
Magazine
For nearly 20 years, Rick and Linda Larsen, of Osage, Iowa, published The Toy Tractor Times a monthly magazine for farm toy collectors. “Linking Together the Chain of Farm Toy Collectors” was the motto for the publication, which focused on collectors. What started in a basement in 1983 left an indelible mark on the hobby of farm toy collecting.
The National Farm Toy Museum, houses the National Farm Toy Hall of Fame including memorabilia and representative farm toys of past nominees. A not-for-profit 501(c)(3) the museum’s mission is the preservation of the history of agriculture through farm toy collecting.
The National Farm Toy Museum is open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. More information about the National Farm Toy Museum is available at www.nationalfarmtoymuseum.com or by calling 563-875-2727.
