Sun-Ag hosts annual Tractor Day Show in Emden

[June 22, 2022]     On Saturday Sun-Ag at Emden hosted the Lincoln Antique Tractor Club for a “Tractor Day” show and a time of gathering for the club. There were 11 tractors at this year’s show along with some special displays to entertain visitors.

This same show was hosted last year in July on what was probably one of the hottest days of the year. While heat has been oppressive this past week, on Saturday the air was dryer with lower humidity rates and the temperatures were cooler with the day’s high only reaching into the 80’s as opposed to nearly 100 degrees early in the week.

Club members bringing in their tractors and engines enjoyed a time of checking out each other’s machines and swapping “war stories” about the personal history with the machines they were showing.

There was also a great time inside the back of the building at Sun-Ag as folks took a rest inside out of the sun and enjoyed refreshments again while swapping stories.

Outside there were 11 tractors on display as well as a few interesting things that related to engine power in one way or another.






While any tractor that ages beyond 50 years is becoming a novelty, and a point of interest for folks interested in agriculture in the earlier days, there were a few items that stood out at this year’s show.
 

Among those was an idea before it’s time so to speak. The New Idea EGT-120 was a rechargeable electric garden tractor. It came stand alone as a small tractor, with attachments such as a lawn mower deck available for purchase.

The little tractor was a clone version of the General Electric Elec-Trak E12M because it was manufactured by GE. The popular electric appliance company had created the E12M, then took the model to New Idea and persuaded that company to market an identical version with different color scheme under its logo.

The electric “motor” was a rechargeable power pack that could be plugged into a standard 110 outlet. It could be recharged relatively quickly and according to the manual should be plugged in for at least 10 minutes each time the operator took a break from work. There was also a printed warning in the manual that if plugged into a circuit with appliances it would more than likely blow the fuse for the circuit. So other items should be unplugged during charging times for the tractor, or a separate circuit established for the EGT-120.

The tractors were indeed a new idea and perhaps one a little before its time, as in the history of the New Idea EGT-120 less than 1,000 were manufactured and sold in the U.S.

Another fun exhibit at the show this year was this series of single phase engines set up as air compressors that powered the toys attached to them via the long hoses.



And, what could be more fun than a purple tractor. The old McCormick Farmall “Super C” was painted wheel-to-wheel a pretty purple that caught the eye immediately. The tractor was also being shown by one of the youngest exhibitors Saturday, and a girl to boot. Just goes to show antique tractors are not necessarily an "old guy thing.”

All in all, it was a good day for the club and it was a great time of camaraderie for those who have been members of the club for years. It was also a great day of celebration for the club as they did a membership drive and signed up four new members.

[Nila Smith/Karen Hargis]