'King of Tractors' celebrated as engines of nostalgia rumble at Red Power Roundup

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (KHGI) — The engines of nostalgia rumble loudly. Tractor lovers are seeing red.

“I love red,” George Weitgenant said with a smile. This Minnesotan found a classic machine from his youth.

“One of the early self-propelled combines Farmall built. My dad bought one in 1948,” he said. “I was 6 or 7.”

Farmall is an iconic name according to Howard Raymond, also known in antique tractor circles as the Nebraska Cowman.

“A Farmall tractor is the tractor that made it possible for row crop farmer to get away from the horse,” he said.

As they celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first Farmall model, enthusiasts say it quickly became the tractor of choice for the American farmer.

“International Harvester and Farmall through the 40s and 50s was undisputed king of tractors,” said Raymond.

But not just tractors: “I specialize in International trucks but they made a lot of things, appliances, you name it,” said Donn Russell of Palmer.

No collection is ever complete.

“Kind of like a disease, have to keep collecting,” Russell said with a chuckle.

The only place to see this many red tractors at once is the Red Power Roundup. Nebraska plays host this year as thousands gather. Agriculture is the economic engine of Nebraska and the Big Red state is welcomed thousands of red tractors to the state fairgrounds at Fonner Park in Grand Island.

But it’s not really about tractors.

“The tractors brought us together originally. It's the people that brought us back,” said farm broadcaster Max Armstrong.

International Harvester fans bleed red.

“I've made friends all over the country. I come here to see my friends. We get together and have a wonderful time,” said Raymond, the Cowman from west central Nebraska.

Red Power Roundup in Grand Island wraps up on Saturday.