Call to Order

Lane called the meeting to order at 7:06pm, and led us in the Pledge of Allegiance

Roll Call -Lane Heatherwick

Lane called the roll. There were 9 directors, and 28 members and guests present.

Secretary's Report -Andy Rousonelos

Lane asked if everyone had received their minutes, and if there were any additions or corrections. Pat made a motion to accept the minutes as published. Jerry seconded that motion, and it was passed by all present.

Treasure's Report -Fred Lestina

Fred reported we had income including a $240 in miscellaneous donations and $150 in dues. Expenses included $84 towards newsletter supplies. Russ made a motion to accept the report as read, it was seconded by Dave, and it was passed by all present.

Old Business

·Fred reported that he played at the last honor flight in Chicago recently and had been busy at Abe Lincoln cemetery playing taps for 7 veterans.

·Paul Andermann passed away at 77 years old, he was a former club director and ran the Wheatland Machine shop where he and Larry Marek restored many of the steam engines featured at our show and did boiler work.

·Fred asked if there were any changes to be made to the show schedule for this year. It was suggested to move shelling from 3:30PM to 3:00PM daily as the crowd thins out in the later afternoon. The Friday tractor pull was moved up from a 10:00AM start to 9:30AM and the weigh in will start at 8:00AM. The Saturday Garden tractor pull was moved from 10:00AM to 9:00AM and the weigh in would also start at 8:00AM. Lane reminded everyone that the rule of thumb at a show, “People stay for 3 hours on average.”

·Lane, Jim, and Fred started work on the tractor drive route, with plans for Steve Essert to hold a lunch at his place. They are working on getting us past our old show grounds at both Burns and Byrons woods in Deselm and a break at Fred Lestina’s farm. The ride will be held on June 7, 2025.

·The club corn crib was filled with ear corn to shell at the 2025 show, thank you Steve for providing us a corn field to pick. Ron ran the corn picker, Chuck Uthe & Jack Toepper brought tractors to haul wagons to the field and crib. Charlie brought a tractor to run the corn elevator. Lane, Jerry, Charlie, and Andy unloaded all of the wagons. The Club’s picker ran smoothly, and the corn crib is very full. Lane and Andy packed the corn in and Andy laid under the rafters to fill the corners and get all of the wagons empty. They hope to set a new record on shelled bushels out of the crib.

·It was also mentioned that the corn elevator worked very well. It is a Kewanee 600 elevator with hydraulic lift and a flip out hopper. Ron’s neighbors, the John Thatcher Estate donated it.

·Dennis and Andy reminded everyone that we will be in need of seasoned firewood for use at the show, to take the burden off of our coal rations. Please start looking for anyone who has firewood to donate.

·The club is still looking for storage near the showgrounds that can house our threshing machines, corn picker, and other large items. We would like to thank Steve Spiess for keeping our gang and disk plows and wobble wheel roller in his sheds onsite, and our other generous members for storing large items.

·Dan Lowe is looking into a wireless sound system to be used at the show and help to get announcements heard at the far ends of the grounds.

New Business

·Fred and Charlie offered a review of the Dyersville toy show. The weather was nice and there were lots of people, the crowd seems to grow every year. There were no bargains to be found but it didn’t seem to slow the sale of toys.

·Brad attended a tour of farm memorabilia near Byron with the IH Chapter 2 collectors club and thought it would make for a great outing for our club. Do we have interest in taking a bus trip up there? Dennis mentioned that Joe Fisher has a collection of Prairie tractors near there in Oregon, IL and both could be seen on the same day. Other collections suggested were Rodney Schwark, Chuck Quick, and Craig Long. Many of these are not in heated spaces and may have to wait until the weather breaks at the end of winter.

·The Christmas Party will be held at the Church Hall on January 12. 2025. We will need silent auction items donated, so bring your spending money. Larry and Alan volunteered to make Hams and Lane and Charlie volunteered to make Turkeys for the dinner. The remaining dishes can be broken down by last name as usual:

o A-F Hot potatoes and stuffing

o G-M Vegetable sides

o N-S Desserts

o T-Z Salads, deviled eggs, & rolls

o Club will provide beverages and table service

·Sandy Delair has agreed to run our Food court, and will be reaching out to vendors to line them up for the show.

·Jess made a YouTube video which captured several highlights of our show, approximately an hour long. It has already received over 4500 views and can be seen on the club YouTube channel. Mark Corson typically makes videos of our show, but did not attend this year as it conflicted with his father’s funeral. Jess also uploaded show pictures to the website.

·Alan suggested that a feature for 2026 be picked, and recommended Allis-Chalmers. The I&I Club will feature AC in 2026, and it has been roughly 10 years since Allis was featured at our show. IH was also suggested, as it had an excellent turnout in 2019. Alan made a motion to use Allis for the 2026 feature. It was seconded by Ron, and passed by all present. IH will be considered for 2027.

Adjournment:

Alan made a motion to adjourn the meeting. It was seconded by Pat and was passed by all present.

Meetings

December 12 Wilton Federated Church 7 PM