HOF Members

I would like to nominate William (Bill) Clark for the EDGE&TA Hall of Fame on behalf of EDGE&TA Branch 133, The Maine Antique Tractor Club, located in Norridgewock, Maine. 

Bill is one of the Founding/Charter Members of our club which started in 1994. Bill has served as President and is a long time Board Member who is very active with the events, meetings, and the direction of our club. Bill has not missed any meetings or events, with the except of a couple, in our 25 year history. He is the “go to” person for our annual antique tractor raffle which is held each year to sponsor our “Club Member/High School Senior Scholarship Fund”. Bill searches, negotiates, (usually gets the tractor donated to the club), trailers, fixes, and sells tickets at numerous locations throughout the year, to make our antique tractor raffle very successful. “Like to buy a ticket”? Bill has one in his front shirt pocket at all times. Bill can be seen at most all the antique tractor pulls on his John Deere 730. He has some very heavy competition as he is in the same class as his brother, Bob, on his John Deere 720, which makes for some very good ribbing on most days. Bill’s oldest son, Gary, is also a Founding/Charter member and current Vice President of the club. Three of Bill’s grandchildren are active members in the club, all pulling in the antique Lawn & Garden pulls and two have moved on to the larger Farm Tractor Pulls. Bill can be seen in many of the parades our club participates in, usually following the grandchildren, as they proudly parade their antique tractors for all to admire. Bill, his wife, and family host the April monthly meeting each year by inviting club members to their home for a pot luck meal, meeting, and a tour of the farm. One of the clubs most heavily attended meetings of the year.

Bill, being raised on the family farm, comes by tinkering naturally as he worked closely with his father buying, selling, and fixing tractors and other agricultural equipment in his spare time as a younger man. Something he continues to do today, along with his son and grandsons, in the same location on the Skowhegan homestead. Bill is the proud owner of more than 40 antique John Deere tractors, along with many other pieces of antique farm equipment, with many pieces being restored by him. Bill enjoys sharing his knowledge of tractors and what makes them go “putt putt” with anyone, especially our club members. Bill displays many of his collected tractors and equipment at the clubs annual Festival each year. 

As our club, EDGE&TA Branch 133, The Maine Antique Tractor Club, celebrates our 25h Anniversary this year, we would be honored to have our Founding/Charter Member, Bill Clark, inducted into the EDGE&TA Hall Of Fame, as one who has made significant contributions to the collection, preservation and exhibition of antique tractors, engines, and equipment here in the State of Maine.

Patricia “Pat” Morrison joined Tired Iron of the Ozarks in 2001. She has been an active member ever since. At the time she joined, the club was engaged in a search for land to purchase as a permanent base for club shows, but, in the meantime, shows were held on borrowed property, which included the grounds of a local airport and a wild–life safari. A couple of shows were held in a large circus tent. This was not much to encourage involvement of the wives of club members, but Pat participated every step of the way, 

A big activity for many club members was and continues to be to attend club shows and community activities throughout a four–state area to acquaint people with Tired Iron and the marvel of vintage tractors and engines. For example, our clubs exhibitions of fly–wheel engines are known throughout the region. Pat‘s valuable contribution was to attend her and her husband‘s exhibits at these scores of venues. She can and does tell folks the backgrounds of the four–wheel 1946 Gibson, a riding, (and rare) 1947 Perrin, and much more. She even exhibited basket weaving for a time. Many people have enjoyed the information and look at their unusual tractors and craftwork. 

When Tired Iron purchased land for the club in 2003, active members now had a great responsibility to build and maintain facilities for club activities. Bathrooms were built in 2004 and a clubhouse in 2005. With the note that Larry and Pat live only 4 miles from the club land, she, especially when her husband served as president of Tired Iron for three years, spent time almost every day at the club. Clubhouse up–keep became very important. She, along with a few others, have seen to the sweeping and arranging of the building for all occasions. 

Since the club grounds are at least five miles from food services, it was very important that our club kitchen, which had been added to the clubhouse by some determined members, be used to provide food for the visitors to the shows. For a few years Pat was in charge of all the food concession. She bought all drinks and food for the occasions. The kitchen served doubly for Tired Iron in that profits were added to the general fund of the club and helped provide backing for many projects. 

Another important part of club activity she takes a lead role in when needed is the preparation of three potluck dinners every year for the club membership. Perhaps, more importantly, she brings home–made cookies and other goodies and provides coffee and soft drinks for people attending the meetings. 

Pat currently serves as treasurer of Tired Iron. As a part of her job, she collects dues and maintains the club roster. Every club needs members such as she, and this fact serves as the basis for our club members‘ nomination of Pat to the EDGE&TA Hall of Fame.

When an established antique tractor and engine club purchases land for a permanent home, persons in the neighborhood have to be impacted. That was certainly the case when Tired Iron of the Ozarks, Branch 37, bought 17+ acres next to Johnny and Ann Burger. All Johnny‘s work to build Tired Iron and his support as an EDGE&TA director was recently recognized by his induction into the EDGE&TA Hall of Fame. Ann Burger was in step with Johnny the entire way, and it becomes obvious that all her involvement in maintaining many elements of the club and furthering the goals of EDGE&TA and Tired Iron earn her a nomination to the Hall of Fame. When Tired Iron built a club house, maintenance became a serious concern. Active members might not know that Ann has worked tirelessly to keep the clubhouse clean. She has been diligent at the task for the fourteen years the building has existed. The week before our twice yearly shows she sets off bug bombs to control the insects in the building, which incidentally sits in what was a hay field. All the cleanliness is extra important since the clubhouse includes a kitchen to serve visitors during the show. 

And, who says a woman cannot do ground maintenance? Anyone who has seen Ann with her wheeled weed–eater as she trimmed huge areas will know what determination can do. As importantly, areas that defied trimming were and are sprayed for control of the grass and weeds. Lots of members work on the grounds, but none more than Ann. 

Another very important activity is her devoted attention to the club‘s Home Antique building, which houses an amazing collection of items. Ann and her helpers do what equates to a professional effort with the building and its contents. Ann sees to it that the best arrangements are made for display of kitchen items, of bedroom furnishings, of an early 1900s school room, of cabinet displays of numerous, etc., which amaze visitors. Perhaps Ann‘s greatest attraction is her sewing machines exhibitions. She interests young people to the use of treadle machines and allows them to sew first hand. Many photos are taken by news reports for full–page presentations of the Home Antique building. Most photos are of Ann. Her lively descriptions of her work assures that. At the end of each show, Ann cleans and packs away delicate items for protection so they will be in great condition for the next show. 

With the mention of her husband as a former director of EDGE&TA, it should not be a surprise that Ann accompanied Johnny on most of trips for our national club. Again, she emerges as a favorite to everyone in her activities for EDGE&TA. No one can imagine a better ambassador for all the organization stands for. 

Both Burgers have been and are great contributors of all they have, including their donation of money to many projects, the use of their modern tractor for land preparation and maintenance, and, most of all, for their countless hours in furthering everything EDGE&TA and Tired Iron. We, the members of Branch 37, respectfully nominate Ann to the Hall of Fame. 

Ralph has been involved in Branch 28 for over 25 years (his father, Bob Moore, helped organize the club). Ralph is a machinist by trade. He has done several repair jobs on equipment and especially on our two mechanical sleds. During the show, he pitches in wherever needed. Ralph lives several miles from our grounds so he can’t be involved on a weekly basis. Ralph and his wife (she works in the kitchen during the shows) always makes a good donation to branch 28 to help as we preserve, restore, and demonstrate items from our agricultural heritage. For the 30 anniversary of Branch 28, he and his family brought and displayed 30 tractors that were all from the same manufacturer. 

We are honoring Ralph for his dedication and service to Branch 28 over these many years. He also has saved Branch 28 lots of money through his knowledge and time as a machinist. 

Ralph owns many, many antique and classic tractors. He always brings them to our shows for exhibition and pulling. He is always ready and willing to help other members with problems that develop with their tractors and implements. Ralph also helps on the pulling track during the antique and classic tractor pulls at each of our shows. He really likes to help the younger members of our club. Ralph is very devoted to the collections, preservation, and exhibition of machines and equipment that are very much a part of our agricultural heritage. 

Jim has been a member of Branch 28 since the very early years of the club’s existence. Jim served a term as president of our club in the past. He has been in charge of the tractor pulls that we have at each show (spring and fall) for many, many years. Jim is always ready to organize our pulls as well as some pulls in neighboring towns. These help to create an interest in and an awareness of our club and our purpose of preserving the agricultural history in our area.

We want to honor Jim for his dedication to our club. Jim is the driving force that organizes and oversees all pulling events on our club grounds. This includes antique tractors, classic tractors and kids pedal tractor pull. Jim owns several tractors and brings them for exhibition and for the pulling contests. When Jim was selected as “track boss,” the club used a flat piece of metal that people stepped on at assigned places to add weight. We have progressed to the point that we now use two mechanical sleds side by side on the same track, Jim is in charge of getting personnel to help register the pullers, weight of their tractors, and the class they pull in. Jim was very instrumental in Branch 28 owning a good, permanent scale to weigh pulling tractors. He and several others traveled over 4 hours to get a donated sled and get in installed on our grounds. Jim was the driving force to get one of our members to design a computer system to record distances and winners in each class. This has really streamlined the “bookkeeping and announcing” during our pulls.

Jim has served as president and track boss” very well for Branch 28. He has well organized pulls that continue to attract new spectators and visitors to our shows. This in turn gets more interest in our demonstrations and exhibits as Branch 289 strives to continue the traditions of or past agricultural methods and equipment.