WOOSTER, Ohio — The 2011 Hart Parr Oliver Collectors’ Association Summer Show will be held July 21-23 at the Wayne County Fairgrounds in Wooster.
The show will run from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. each day.
“Everything Oliver” and a whole lot more will be available at the show, which is sponsored by the Buckeye Oliver Collectors, one of at least a dozen or more regional groups around the country, according to Joe Gress, of Shreve, Ohio, one of the coordinators.
The Ohio show is a stand-alone show, according to Gress, which means that no other show is being held in conjunction with the show.
Gress explained that the Hart Parr Oliver Collectors Association was formed about 15 years ago, by a group of Oliver tractor enthusiasts for Oliver collectors. Charles Hart and Charles Parr manufactured the first machine known as a tractor in Charles City, Iowa, in 1903, according to Gress.
“Ohio has one of the largest groups of Oliver collectors in the country,” Gress said. “There is no bigger concentration than here in Wayne County, thanks to Shearer Equipment. Oliver had a good tractor and Wooster had good dealers. It was a good place to sell tractors and it made the tractor popular in this area.”
More than tractors
Gress said the show isn’t just restricted to tractors; it is open to anything related to the Oliver name, from toys to literature to advertising to the actual equipment manufactured under the Oliver umbrella.
When Gress says anything produced by Oliver, he means not only literature and advertising materials, but toys, boat motors, lawnmowers, railroad equipment, and construction and military equipment; from product lines such as Minneapolis Moline, Cockshutt, White, Cletracs, which was purchased by Oliver.
Show feature
The feature for this year’s show will be high crop tractors and equipment. Gress explained that high crop tractors and equipment were designed for sugar cane and crops that needed more ground clearance. “
Normal tractors have a 2 foot clearance, the high crop design adds another 16 inches off the ground,” he said. “Every machinery manufacturer made a high crop tractor.”
Gress said show coordinators are also looking for any piece of high crop equipment, such as cotton pickers or sugar cane harvesters, made by Oliver, that might not be as common in this area.
There will also be a large display of toy equipment in the Grange Rotunda.
Admission to the show is $2 per day or all three days for $5. Children 10 years and under will be admitted free and so will any active FFA member.
The planning committee has also invited any FFA member who restored a tractor for the national contest to bring their tractor to display at the show.
Demonstrations
In addition to the equipment displays, Gress said there will be threshing demonstrations, straw baling, shelling corn, grinding cobs and crushing rocks.
They will also have 90 spots available for venders with parts, clothing and toys.
Food will be available on the grounds.
Learn more
Anyone interested in exhibiting at the show should get their reservations in by June 21. For more information, visit www.hpocasummershow.com or contact Gress at 330-317-0398 for show information, Donnie Fischer for more information on the toy show and memorabilia exhibits at 419-261-0061, Rick Stair at 330-466-2164 to rent vendor space or Glenn Schaal at 330-567-3417 to rent a camper space on the fairgrounds.
Additional events
On Thursday, setup day, some demonstrations will start in the afternoon and continue until 8 p.m. They also have some informational sessions planned, including a session by Dr. Brad Garrison on the livestock care issues in Ohio.
On Thursday evening, Ron Grosjean, a local collector in Wooster, will have his museum open from 4-8 p.m. and there will be a cook-out with donations accepted to help defray the costs of the event. Gress said that reservations for the cook-out would be appreciated.
The scale model tractor pullers’ association will start a weekend pull Friday afternoon and continue on Saturday.
Friday afternoon there will also be an educational seminar on the future of AGCO, and where the company is headed.
Also on Friday there will be a tractor pull open to tractors on the grounds with five weight classes ranging from 3,500 pounds to 12,000 pounds.
At 10 a.m. on Friday, there will be an auction of machinery and parts.
Consignments to the auction may be made by contacting Matt Gress at 330-264-9196 or 330-317-7551.
In keeping with the family focus of the show, Gress said that there are other activities available as well. On July 22, a bus will leave the fairgrounds at 8:30 a.m. for a tour of Amish country and return to the fairgrounds at 4:30 p.m. Reservations are required for the bus tour.
On Saturday, there will also be a bus tour to the J M Smucker Store and Cafe in Orrville and P Graham Dunn in Dalton. The bus will leave the fairgrounds at 8:30 and return back to the fairgrounds by 12:30 p.m.
The show wraps up on Saturday, July 23 with a Kiddie Tractor Pull at 10 a.m. and a grand parade of tractors and equipment around the fairgrounds at 1 p.m., followed by the annual banquet at The Amish Door in Wilmot, Ohio. During the banquet, the association will recognize their member of the year and present the Lifetime Achievement Award.
Guest speakers for the evening will be Hannah Crossen, past president of the Ohio FFA and Harry Dechler, who developed the White planter.
