For almost 20 years, Eef Smitshuysen has been building paper tractors from printed sheets. And despite not noticing many newcomers in this hobby, he has discovered that the number of building projects on the market is increasing all the time!
Eef lives in the village of Schimmert in the Metherlands, where he is the housekeeper and manager of a Schimmert rural museum.
Eef has enjoyed tractors and agriculture all of his life. His father was an Air Force pilot, which fuels Eef's interest in aircraft as well. However, the Smitshuyen family used to spend vacations at a campsite in the rural areas in the southeast Netherlands, well-know for its scenic landscape and peaceful atmosphere. It was on the neighboring farm to the campsite that Eef, who considers himself a city boy, first learned to drive tractor when he was a kid.

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1976 was a notable year in the United States, with a bicentennial celebration as well as a hotly contested presidential election, in which a relatively unknown from Georgia named Jimmy Carter upset incumbent Gerald Ford. Ford's cause was not helped by a stagnant economy. The inflation that resulted affected the farm community. Despite high commodity prices, several farm equipment builders were gasping for air. Oliver was no exception.
Toy Farmer pays homage to Oliver's final production of the Oliver 2255 in 1976 with one of its 2019 show tractors. Toy Farmer has chosen two tractors for its 2019 National Farm Toy Show issues. For the 42nd National Farm Toy Show Nov. 1-3 in Dyersville, Iowa, Toy Farmer is issuing a 1/16 scale Oliver 2255 two-wheel-drive with ROPS and a 1/64 scale Minneapolis-Moline A4T-1600 four-wheel-drive.
The Oliver story begins just prior to the Civil War, when James Oliver was awarded a pair of patents– one for a plow and the other for a chilling process, which made his plow better. This was, of course, well before the self-propelled tractor was even an idea. In fact, Oliver did not enter this market until 1929, after a merger with the Hart-Parr and Nichols & Shepard lines. The color scheme most familiar to collectors –the green, yellow and red with art deco styling–would not appear until the late 1930s.

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Mike Narloch crafted this 20-35 Model E Allis-Chalmers. He started by splitting and stripping a 1970s Bob Gray casting and grinding off the air intake stack and radiator cap. He then added some frame detail with his Dremel. He added a seat and steering wheel and shaft, then made a new air stack, radiator cap and crank. Mike also made a more detailed front axle from a piece of aluminum stock, wire and tie rod ends from Dakotah Toys. A set of wheels was salvaged from a Scale Models tractor. "The 20-35 was finished in dark green with red wheels and decals expertly crafted by my wife, Susie," MIke said.

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Like many collectors in the farm toy hobby, Herb Bergen's interest was sparked at a young age. Back in the 1970s, Herb's parents owned a Massey Ferguson dealership in Winnipegosis, Manitoba, Canada, where he spent a great deal of time. In those days, C. Bergen Service also sold Massey Ferguson toys.
"All of the dealership tractors and combines came home and were always put away so others who came over couldn't play with them. I started out with one combine, a couple of tractors and a few pieces of machinery." Herb said.
Herb acquired an array of toys during his childhood, but didn't think of them as collectibles until a visit with a short-line equipment supplier, who inquired if he had a collector's edition of the Massey Ferguson 1105.
"When I got home, I looked in my stash of toys, and, sure enough, I had one of those 1105s," Herb said. "I made sure to set that tractor aside. Not long after, I went to my first toy show and was hooked immediately. Now I have over 500 pieces in my collection. Nearly all of them are Massey-Harris of Massey Ferguson."
C. Bergen Service is still in business today. The Massey Ferguson dealership was let go in 1980 and the business focused on the repair and parts departments. More than a decade ago, the business changed again when the repair shop was discontinued in favor of expanding the parts department. Farm supplies and equipment parts make up the core of the business today. Herb serves as parts manager.
About the time that Herb started collecting toys in his youth, he visited a hobby shop in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
"It was mostly model railroading materials," Herb said. "I found a six-volt motor with individual planetaries at the shop. I knew that I could fit it into a 1/16 scale Massey Ferguson 1105. I cut an 1105 totally apart ad fitted the motor inside. After hooking it to a six-volt battery, it drove around really nice. I was able to locate other smaller motors to fit into other models as well. The next tractor I put together had a motor and a differential and it still works to this day," Herb said. 

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As a longtime farm toy collector, Pat Smith treasures the friendships he's formed as much as the treasure trove of toys that he's collected over the years.
"The best part of the hobby is the people that I've met. I've met some really good people and a lot of them have been friends for many years who I stay in pretty close touch with, whether it's out here in the Northwest, or in the Midwest of the Eastern United States. I've gotten to know people from all over the United States and even some from around the world from going to the toy show in Dyersville, Iowa, every year. It's kind of like a large social event. It really is fun," he described. 
Now living in the Seattle, Wash., area, Pat grew up on a dairy farm where the family raised and milked registered Holstein cattle near Eden in east central Wisconsin. 
"Growing up on a farm, I had farm toys as a kid, as did most of my friends and neighbors at the time. That's what kids played with back then. They're the old Earth toys that we're now collecting as the old historic pieces," he said.
Among his current collection is one of the original toys he owned as a child, an Oliver 1800 tractor that was purchased at a local dealership where his father bought some of the farm's tractors and equipment. The rest of Pat's toys were given away as he grew older.
"I really didn't foresee any future in needing or wanting them," he said. "The hobby at that time, in my mind, I didn't even know it existed. I didn't realize that I'd someday later be collecting them."
When Pat was younger, the family farm was loyal to Allis-Chalmers, which was based in Milwaukee, Wis., at the time, although there were other colors being used as well, including several New Holland implements.
"Initially, my father had a fair amount of Allis-Chalmers equipment and his father liked Case tractors," Pat said. "We always had Oliver plows on the farm. In the Midwest, it seemed no matter what color tractor you drove, it always pulled an Oliver plow, because they were always considered the best plows of the time."
Pat's dad was a member of the bowling team sponsored by the local Oliver dealership, which eventually drew the family to purchase the farm's first Oliver tractor. It also led Pat to have an unusual item in his collection.

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The 2018 version of the National Farm Toy Show in Dyersville, Iowa, started sunny and ended soggy, but in-between was filled with activities and fun for all.
Several indoor vendors said Friday was slower than usual, but that Saturday bounced back with healthy sales. "Yesterday was down," said Greg Blank, who had a vendor table in the new gym at Beckman High School. "But today was OK. Today was better." 
Greg began collecting farm toys about 1981 and then selling about 10 years later. Also helping at his table were his wife, Jeanie, and children, Keegan and Lauren, all of Jefferson, Wis. His daughter, Lauren, brought displays to the National Farm Toy Show for several years so that also involved the family.
For the Blanks, the National Farm Toy Show is a family affair.
Brian and Lisa Spatz of Lincoln, Neb., also noted a smaller crowd on Friday but were happy with sales on Saturday at their Spatz Farm Toys table in one of the classrooms in the high school Their son also attended the show with them; an older daughter was there in previous years until she entered college - making it a family affair for the Spatzes as well.
In addition to setting up their table at the National Farm Toy Show, the Spatzes are busy preparing to host the Husker Toy and Buckle Show, which will be held Jan. 20, 2019, in Lincoln, Neb. That show was started and run for many years by Brian's father, Dave, and Pat Bartek died this past spring, but not before passing the show onto the younger Spatzes.
Outdoor vendors were busy on Friday, when it was sunny, but saw their crowds decrease on Saturday afternoon as clouds rolled in and eventually rain began to fall.
The parking lot in front of Beckman High school was filled to capacity by about 8:45 a.m. on Saturday and remained full for the day.

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When he penned the words, "to thine own self be true," Shakespeare may have had John Dohrman in mind. Joh, of Sweet Springs, Mo., knows who he is and what he is. "I'm a farmer. My dad was a farmer. My sons are farmers. And I hope my grandson will be a farmer, too," he shared.
John loves farming, but he also loves collecting toy tractors, and his passion in life has always been tractor pulling.
John's father, Forest Dohrman, began farming on land John's grandfather owned south of Sweet Springs in the late 1940s. South Fork Creek runs through the Doorman land, so around 1972, Forest Dohrman named his farm "South Fork Farms."
"I started farming full time in 1980 when I was 19 years old," John said.
"Dad, my brother, Dennis, and I farmed together for 12 years."
Today, South Fork Farms has 4,500 acres and grows corn, soybeans, and wheat. The Dohrmans also raise 100 head of beef cattle and 300 farrow hogs.
"I love farming the land my grandfather purchased," John said. "I especially love the fact that South Fork Farms is a family operation. Dad died in 1992, but Dennis and his son, Adam, and I and my son, Keith, all work together each day. There is a strong continuity in our family as each succeeding generation stays on the land. Even my son, Tyler, is in the farming business, working for Ziegler Ag Equipment. I hope one day to see my grandson, Hudson, join me so the tradition fo a Dohrman working our land continues unbroken."
John is equally proud of his daughters-in-law. Keith is married to Ana, a speech pathologist, and Tyler is married to Emily, who will graduate in May as a doctor of veterinarian medicine.
Like most farm boys, as a child John alternated his time between helping his dad farm and playing with farm toys.
"I spent many happy hours farming the sandbox," he said. "One of the first toy tractors I remember owning was an Allis-Chalmers 190 that Junior Scott, owner of the local Allis-Chalmers dealership, Scott Implement in Sweet Springs, gave to Dad when he purchased a real 190 for the farm. I was about 5 years old when Dad bought the 190, and he set the model 190 aside because he did not want me tearing it up. It was five or six years later before he actually gave the toy to me to play with, which maybe be the primary reason I still have this toy tractor in my model collection."

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With a personal collection of more than 8,000 1/64 scale farm toys and accessories (not including customized pieces), Jason Dalton, owner of Dalton's Farm Toys, may have one of the largest farm toy collections.
"When I was 11, I won an award from Ertl for having the largest 1/64 scale collection in the world. A magazine Ertl used to publish sponsored this competition. My collection at that time was larger than any known adult's collection. To this day, I believe my collection is still the largest collection in the world," he shared.
Today, Jason's collection consists of almost all of the 1/64 scale farm toys ever made by all manufacturers, he said.
"I also have several thousand other farm toys in various scales, such as 1/16 IH toys as well as 1/32 four-wheel-drive toy tractors," he said.
He has more than 50 brand-specific display cases, including a showcase full of early John Deere tractor sets manufactured by Ertl. These represent some of the first 1/64 toys ever produced.
Jason's farm toy hobby has also expended into an expansive business. According to Jason, Dalton's Farm Toys "has the largest selection of 1/64 farm toys and models on the internet."
"We have over 3,500 farm toys in our online catalog with pictures of every one. We specialize in older and out-of-production items, but also carry a full line of new releases as well." he said.
Jason began collecting 30 years ago. Now, Jason proudly said, "I have all brands, from the common pieces to super rare. I also have everything new in the box/package if it came in one. I have a lot of one-of-a-kind pieces as well as prototypes that were never actually produced. I even have a lot of misprints and incorrectly packaged items. I have every gold Toy Farmer 1/64 scale tractor ever made. Only a few people have that set. I also have every 1/64 Big Bud tractor made, including a prototype, samples and one-of-a-kind model."

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Tucker Wichman, of Ridott, Ill., has a knack for making farm toy collectors feel old. He is just 11 years old, and he is already a grand champion at the Stephenson County Fair, something some collectors wait a lifetime to achieve.
The sixth-grader has been in the Country Cusins 4-H Club since he was 5, and plans to join FFA in high school. Tucker's 4-H projects related to tractors have won grand champion every year that he has entered at the Stphenson County Fair. Last year, Tucker won grand champion at the fiar when he showed a small portion of his Case IH farm models as a 4-H collection project.
When asked if farming was in his blood, Tucker grins and replies, "No, RED is in my blood–red as in Case, CaseIH, International Harvester and McCormick-Deering Farmall. I live and breathe red tractors."
Both of Tucker's parents (Adam and Ashley Wichman) were farm kids and, today, the family lives on a small farmette near Ridott.
"Dad grew up on a dairy farm in Lena, Ill," Tucker said. "Mom grew up on a small beef farm near Ridott. Mom'd dad, Grandpa DuWayne Olson–called Bumps by us grandkids, actually had more of a hobby farm then a working farm, but he always had lots of different animals, which made visiting him very exciting."
Although Tucker doesn't live on a working farm, both Adam and Ashley have tractors their dads once owned and used. Tucker, with some exaggeration, said, "I have been driving these tractors since I was born, and now I can drive all of them."
Like most farm kids, Tucker played with farm toys as a little boy. For his first Christmas, he received a Farmall Super H pedal tractor, which he still has in his collection. "I still 'play' with farm toys," he added. "Today, though, 'playing' means fiddling with my models and farm display, looking for ways to make it bigger and better."

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While some collectors don't have enough space to display all their modles, Ryan Mees, of Lincoln, Neb., solved that problem by loaning 25-30 of his customized models to the National Farm Toy Museum in Dyersville, Iowa.
"Awhile back," Ryan said, "the museum asked a couple members of Pirate Farm Toys to repair and customize some broken models the museum had, and then, if possible, to donate the repaired models back to the museum. I chose to repair and customize an Allis-Chalmers 210."
About a year later, Ryan was thinking about his collection–stored in boxes in his basement–so he contacted the museum about displaying some models on a loan-type basis.
The museum was putting together a display in celebration of John Deere's 100th anniversary of entering the tractor business, and Museum Curator Amanda Schwartz asked to display Ryan's collection of John Deere farm toys, along with his numerous customized pieces.
In August 2017, Ryan and Kerri, his wife, loaded their minivan and drove to Dyersville, Iowa, where his models are on display.
Ryan grew up on a farm founded by his grandfather, Arnold Mees, in southeastern Nebraska. Ryan's father, Dave Mees, eventually took over the farm, growing corn, milo and soybeans.
"I enjoyed my childhood," Ryan said. "Dad loved John Deere tractors, so I got the opportunity to drive several of them, including a John Deere 2510 wide front with a 46A loader that we used as our utility tractor, our cabbed 4020 with slotted duals, and our JD 6620 sidehill combine. My favorite tractor was our JD 4430, which I often drove pulling a grain cart. My fondest memories are driving the 4430 next to Dad on the 6620, working together to get our crops in."

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