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M-M Enthusiasts enjoy Charles City

Minneapolis-Moline farm implement enthusiasts check out the tractors in front of the Floyd County Historical Society Museum in Charles City on Friday. (Press photo James Grob.)
Minneapolis-Moline farm implement enthusiasts check out the tractors in front of the Floyd County Historical Society Museum in Charles City on Friday. (Press photo James Grob.)
By James Grob, jgrob@charlescitypress.com

A lot of “Old Gold” hats could be seen throughout Charles City this weekend, the red letters “MM” on them.

Under those hats were folks in town for the Minneapolis-Moline Collectors Winter Convention.

“It’s a great event, and it’s nice to see some friends who we don’t see very often,” said Dean Zingre, who came to Charles City from Sandwich, Illinois. “This is a chance to see some of the old machinery and just visit with friends.”

Zingre tries to attend every M-M show in Moline, and this was his third visit to Charles City. He said the community is beautiful.

Charles City’s White Farm facility was home to one of the factories that built Minneapolis-Moline tractors.

The convention is part of a semi-annual tradition that Minneapolis-Moline Collectors take part in, with winter and summer shows each year. This is the 61st time that the collectors have gathered, and the 31st year of the convention.

“I tell you what, you’d think you’d died and went to heaven,” said Dennis Hoekstra from Orange City, who is on the M-M collector’s board. He said he and his comrades “live and breathe” the M-M implements.

“One of the nice things about Charles City here is, they’ve got our Minneapolis-Moline records here at the Floyd County Museum,” Hoekstra said. “If we need any manuals or literature or whatever, they have it. We can get where anything was built and serial number lists. They’ve also got additional information about them.”

Friday morning’s events included a tour of the Mitas Tire Factory and a tour of Cambrex. Also Friday, six former Minneapolis-Moline plant employees discussed their time working for M-M at the Floyd County Historical Museum with a crowd of about 50.

“The last Minneapolis-Moline came off the production line in 1974. That was a G-1355,” said Hoekstra. “They’ve really got a strong following, and the people just really turn out.

“There’s probably more than a dozen states represented here,” he added, pointing out a friend who came to Charles City from New Jersey.

The fairgrounds center was filled with vendors. M-M memorabilia tours were scheduled at several different farms near Waverly, Tripoli, Rockford, Nora Springs and Charles City.

“We go to these places and see all the different collections at the winter shows,” said Hoekstra. “You get to see the whole collection, then, rather than just seeing one or two that they’ll bring in to a summer show. These guys also have a lot of memorabilia, and they have that on display.”

Saturday’s schedule included the auction in the morning at the fairgrounds and the banquet at night.

Hoekstra said he truly enjoys visiting Charles City.

“It’s a nice town. I’ve been here several times before. I think it’s a town that’s pretty neat,” he said. “They have a lot of small business stores yet, and those are struggling in a lot of rural areas, but it looks like you’ve got a vibrant town here.”

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