Holly Spangler, editor of Prairie Farmer, penned Toy tractors in need of a solution, and it ran as The Farm Life column in the December Indiana Prairie Farmer. It recounted a conversation with her teenage daughter, Caroline, about why her dad, John, and brother, Nathan, love to collect but never play with toy tractors. Instead, they sit on shelves needing dusting.

Caroline didn’t see the point. Why would men waste time and money on things that just sit on shelves?

Full disclosure

Before I defend John, Nathan and farm toy lovers everywhere, I must confess. Around 20 years ago, I attended my first toy tractor auction on New Year’s Day. Auctions were live then. Online-only sales and internet bidding weren’t things yet. I love auctions!

I made my first purchase: a single Co-op tractor reproduction without a box for $25. I took it home and put it on my mantle, and my mom, there to eat cabbage with us to celebrate a new year, looked at it, then me, and I thought I had 10 green arms and legs. She didn’t get it.

So, I penned an editorial questioning why people pay big sums of money for old toys that sit on display shelves. In fact, three mint-condition New Idea toys — a corn picker, manure spreader and sickle mower — sold as a set with boxes for $1,100. I remember writing this line: “Who would pay that when you could almost buy an acre of land with that money?”

Shows you how long ago I wrote that piece! My ending salvo was to let kids play with toys, don’t leave them collecting dust in a closet.

True value

So, what changed? Why do I now have dozens of farm toys in my office? Besides liking the thrill of searching for bargains and bidding, it reminds me of a simpler time when I grew up on the farm. I can relive memories through collecting toys representing equipment of the day. Plus, I share what those days were like with others who also love collecting toy tractors.

On Nov. 9, I rode with Pete Illingworth as he shelled our replicated corn trial at the Purdue Throckmorton Ag Center near Romney, Ind. After finishing the plot, he invited me to stay aboard as he finished the bulk acreage. For the past three hours, we had talked about everything from crop yields to plans for future crop trials.

“Now let’s talk about important stuff,” Pete said. “Have you purchased any neat toy tractors lately?”

Pete is a farm toy collector too. His tastes run toward Case because he grew up with Case tractors. So, we talked about toy tractors, toy farm shows and old farm literature — easily the best part of the day!

I mentioned old New Idea literature. “Have you got anything on New Idea Uni-Systems?” he asked.

Turns out he grew up near a seed production farm and spent hours watching them pick seed corn. “I’ve got several toy models,” he said. “I’m always looking for anything related to them.”

Why? Because it reminds him of his youth. What more is there to say, Holly? Maybe collecting farm toys won’t keep us young forever, but it keeps us connected to our roots. For Pete and me, that is enough.

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