Workmanship unique at Antique Tractor and Engine Show

By MONETTE TAYLOR | South Central Texas Edition

Dierre Smith (and dog Sampson) brought several of their unique collections to the regional show in Brenham. He and wife Becky enjoy traveling around the state, and sharing their interest in rare engines and their ability to “keep on running.” -- Staff photo by Taylor

August 11, 2005 - Despite of the searing July heat, the Regional Antique Tractor and Engine Show in Brenham, sponsored by the Sharecroppers of Texas, drew a big crowd!

The show featured many antique machinery owners that had grown up on farms, yet not all participants could boast of that background ... they just love the history and workmanship of the machines.

Dierre and Becky Smith of the Hill Country Antique Tractor and Engine Club, Inc., were in Brenham to display a variety of old engines. Their collection started because of an interest in the rare engines and their ability to “keep on running.”

According to literature of their group, the purpose of the Hill Country Club is to: “foster the preservation and knowledge of historical agricultural machines and methods; to provide a venue for members to share common interests and experiences; and to conduct an annual show at which members share their knowledge and exhibit their antique tractors, engines and other agricultural machines.”

Billie Pieper of Brenham has found being involved in antique farm machinery an enjoyable venture. Here he shows a “home light plant” operated from a 1922 Fairbanks Morse engine. -- Staff photo by Taylor

While this show was presented by the Sharecroppers of Texas group, it is obvious many clubs have a common interest and love of antique machinery.

Many folks may assume each engine is built to run only one piece of equipment, but after a conversation with several of the show’s attendees, that is a big misconception. As Smith put it, “they are used to run anything … whatever you need power for!”

Proof of the fact was the outdoor fan being run by a 1949 Maytag washer motor. There was a 1929 pump jack built by Fuller and Johnson and a 1910 Challenge motor that claimed 8-horsepower.

The Smiths, like many antique tractor and engine owners, venture all around Texas. For the Smiths, their travels keep them busy most of the year, January to November. They said they really enjoy all the people they meet and the different pieces of equipment they are able to view. (They even take their dog, Sampson.) The hardest part of the traveling is getting off work (for Becky), and paying for the fuel to travel to the shows.

For Billie Pieper of Brenham, the shows and machinery, offer him a chance to do something pleasurable. Pieper owned a bed-spring business for 40 years, supplying the springs for many of the major mattress factories; but after a heart attack in 1984, he decided to retire and do something he really enjoyed. That involved being around antique farm machinery. Along with his brothers, they attend four to six shows a year, and enjoy being together … similar to when they were growing up on a farm, years ago.

One of his engines, a 1922 Fairbanks Morse, and another, built in 1923, were used as a “home light plant.” He, also owns a Foos Junior gas 8-horsepowered engine produced by the Southern Gas and Gasoline Engine Company in Houston from 1915 to 1920.

Another big attraction at the show was a 1919 Allis Chalmers tractor, owned by Tommy Watson of Cuero. The antique tractor drew a lot of attention because of its age and abilities.

Show attendees were entertained with engine demonstrations, tractor pulls, parades, horse-drawn hay baler demonstrations, and threshing machine demonstrations, among other things.

The final day of the show arrived, and it was time to pack up the machinery and look forward to the next show. Owners had proven that although the title “antique” might be correct, it certainly doesn’t mean it doesn’t work, anymore!