Restored Tractor to Be Featured at Lake Itasca Pioneer Farmers Show

A before-and-after comparison of the restored tractor to be featured at the Lloyd Holy Farm Toys Museum at this year’s Lake Itasca Region Pioneer Farmers Show. (Top image credit: Lloyd Holy)

A special restored tractor will be featured at the annual Lake Itasca Region Pioneer Farmers Show this weekend.

Every year, many people travel from all over the Lakes Country to the Pioneer Farmers Show for a chance to feel like they’ve stepped in a time machine and learn about history in a place with no cell reception.

“That’s when all of the buildings are going to be open for viewing along with great food, potato picking to threshing, the sawmill, and a lot of friendship here,” said Lloyd Holy of Bemidji.

One of the main attractions for the weekend is the Lloyd Holy Farm Toys Museum, which was originally brought to the show four years ago. Holy just wanted to donate his collection to the show at first, but when organizers realized how much Holy had, they decided to construct a building to store his collection.

“I was in the farm equipment business all my life, first with the John Deere Company and then as a dealer, and toys were always a big item on our shelf at John Deere stores,” explained Holy. “We started collecting and collecting, and first thing you know I have exactly 901 toys in this building right now.”

“I thought this was a good way to downsize the whole thing up in my age, I’m not exactly in the 20s anymore,” he added with a smile.

And these tractors come in many different shapes, sizes, and materials. The newest and most impressive addition to his collection, however, is a 1969 refurbished tractor.

“My goal was to add something new each year,” Holy stated. “Last year it was these pedal tractors, and then this year I bought that old, old, dilapidated tractor out in the weather, so to speak. And it took me a month to just get it in shape. We first had to disassemble it to get it ready for a painter, and then we had to bring it in here in pieces because we can’t get it through the door. I just finished up the last of the mounting pieces here today, and I think more people could enjoy it here. It’s good for the Pioneer Farmers, too.”

The Pioneer Farmers Show at Itasca State Park starts on Friday, August 16th at 7 a.m., and events include the coronation of the Pioneer Farm King and Queen. The show concludes Sunday, August 18th with the Tractor Pull. A schedule of events can be found on the group’s website.