Strathcona Vintage Tractor Association
2024 Current News
BELOW ARE THE EVENT REPORTS THAT ARE EMAILED TO OUR MEMBERS AS WE MOVE THROUGH THE SEASON. WE ALSO POST THEM HERE ON OUR WEBSITE FOR VISITORS TO ENJOY. THE FIRST REPORT YOU READ BELOW IS MOST RECENT.
East 50 Final Farm Report 2024
Our 2024 farming efforts at our East 50 lease have pretty much wrapped up for the year. Swathing of 50 acres of wheat that was seeded back in May started on Sunday, September 22 followed by harvesting of the crop with 3 combines .... one of our JD 95's, our Massey Ferguson 550, plus a "new to us" 1970 International 503 that we recently purchased. We fought our way through the regular array of minor mechanical issues, adjustments and straw jamming, but we finished it up and our crop was in the bins by late afternoon on Wednesday, September 25.
On Tuesday, we put our 8' John Deere power binder to work on a couple of acres of the wheat crop. The crop was dry enough standing that we were able to load the bundles directly onto our wagons without stooking. We then towed the wagons back to the quonset at the Bremner site for winter storage. We'll put them through the threshing machine at next August's tractor pull and show, our visitors always enjoy those demonstrations.
We dealt with the wheat straw by putting a New Holland 268 and a John Deere 24T baler to work after the combines finished up. When all the dust settled, we counted 1570 small square straw bales along with an estimated 1500 bushels of wheat. Still to happen is some additional field preparation in October back at our North Field site at Bremner. We've disked the land once since the pull weekend and will complete one more pass before the snow flies. We plan to seed some grass ground cover and hay next spring if things go according to schedule with the county's new Ag facility at the North Field. Thanks to all of our members who pitched in for another successful season of vintage farming.
SVTA Year End Lunch Social - September 21
This year for our "year end" get together we decided to hold it earlier than usual with a new format and in a different location. Saturday, September 21 arrived and the weather couldn't have been better for a fall afternoon lunch social with our fellow club members. We held it at Wes and Gloria Kreamer's farmsite "Thee Ark" just outside of Sherwood Park on Range Road 223 south of the Wye Road.
It's a beautiful location with a rustic central barn and a variety of smaller outbuildings as well. The farm yard area made one feel like they had stepped back in time many years. Outside are a variety of visiting areas and a grassy meadow, walking trails, horseshoe pits, vintage farm equipment sheds, chicken coops and even some pheasants. Everywhere you looked inside and out you could see interesting farm and rural collectibles and memorabilia to browse at your leisure.
And of course, every stop inspired several stories from members remembering years back when their families used similar items everyday.
The lunch was tasty and everyone went home with a full belly and little need to worry about supper later. Sid Lyle planned and organized the event for us and the 50 individuals who showed up had a great time. Things wrapped up late in the afternoon. In closing, a big thank you is passed along to Sid as well as those who helped out with set up and clean up duties.
SVTA's 19th Annual Tractor Pull & Show - August 24 & 25
This year marked our club's 19th annual Tractor Pull and Show, and our first at the new "North Field" site. First off we'll pass along a huge thank you to our club members and others who were involved with the move north a few weeks back and then the preparation of the new site. To get that done in such a short time frame was quite a feat. The weekend weather was favourable other than Saturday being quite windy and then some heavy rain overnight and into Sunday morning was a big concern since the track was in very bad condition early Sunday. We managed to skim off about 10 cm of slick and sticky clay mud thanks to our on-site grader and the pulling sled's pullback tractor.
Once things got rolling on Saturday after the driver safety meeting, the pulling moved along quite well. On Saturday we started with the Ultra-Flyweights (one of our ten weight classes) and that was reversed for Sunday pulling when the Class 6 heavyweights were first up. We registered and weighed a total of 130 tractors on Friday evening and Saturday morning. Eighty of our club members participated in the pulling (including 8 new ones who signed up), that's almost half of our total club membership. Each day had about 150 pulls being completed (our most ever) so things finished up a bit later than usual. Then on Saturday evening, our supper in the silent auction tent was delicious. This year's menu was a chicken souvlaki main course with all the trimmings.
We counted a total of 2700 paid admissions through the gate. The total on site was much larger of course since those 14 and under are admitted free, and there were lots of youngsters in attendance. In addition to the pulling, we had three big tents set up for our silent auction, garage sale, and outside vendors. A number of food trucks kept everyone well fed and the kids were kept busy with our sand pile and toys, face painting, mini train rides, and the bouncy castle.
Our "demonstration" area had a crew threshing grain from last year's barley crop, an operating sawmill, and stationary engines running pumps, etc. Visitors enjoyed the wagon rides around the site along with the welcome transport they provided back and forth between the parking area and the action at the track. Static displays of cars, trucks, agricultural equipment and other items of interest were enjoyed by visitors. Things wrapped up late Sunday afternoon with trophies awarded to the first three finishers in each of our classes.
One of the weekend highlites was the dedication of our new "McLaren People Mover" wagon for transporting visitors in attendance. It is in memory of club member Gord McLaren who passed away in 2020. Gord was a tireless worker for our club and was our first site maintenance worker and was a big part of making sure things always looked nice & well kept. On hand for the dedication were Gord's wife Fran and his daughter-in-law Susan McLaren. The inscription on the wagon signs say, "Gord taught us the value of hard work by working hard". It was an emotional time for the McLarens as well as for many of us who worked alongside Gord in years past.
Next year our event will be even better once we get a more permanent ground cover seeded so we're looking forward to that. And let's not forget to thank all the many volunteers who worked so hard over the weekend, and also the pull committee members who organized everything starting in early spring.
Jackson Family's "Alberta Open Farms" Weekend - August 17 & 18
Club member Colin Jackson and his family hosted another 'Alberta Open Farms' event at their farm on the August 17 & 18 weekend. Select farms and farm-related businesses were involved province-wide for this annual event. Visitors were treated to farm tours with a close look at the variety of crops they grow and the farm animals they raise. Some children's games were provided for extra entertainment. Our club had a small vintage iron display for visitors to check out. Sten Nielsen brought his Deutz F3L and an Oliver Super 55. Elmer Reschay displayed his beautifully restored Farmall A while Scott Newstead drove his Ford model T over for the weekend. A big thank you goes out to all for supporting the Jackson family event.
Road Tour & Lunch - August 10
This was our 20th road tour and lunch since our start up in the spring of 2005. We had a dozen tractors participate in the tour which was slightly modified this year for the first part of the route. We visited the Boston Pizza in Fort Saskatchewan for lunch after a two-hour trip north. A handful of others joined in for lunch with us after participants endured the rigours of driving vintage iron on county roads. We're always greeted with friendly waves by passerby traffic who must at times wonder, "what the heck are these people doing?" After returning in mid-afternoon, the group did a bit of setting up at our north field in advance of the fun pull on Sunday.
Fun Pull - August 11
We had about 25 tractors show up for what is a tune up before our annual pull and show in two weeks. This gives us an opportunity to check out our pulling sled to make sure it's in good working condition along with all the electronics and signage that is involved with displaying pull distances. Our reinstalled electronic scales appear to be working accurately. It also gave us a chance to test out our new pulling track. Everything seemed to be in good order and we were refueled at lunch by some great burgers with all the trimmings and cold drinks. Things wrapped up in the late afternoon and for the most part, the site and equipment seems ready to go. With the move to the north field, some noticed that the general layout is very similar to our old one with the orientation of the east-west track and most of the other components of the site.
Galloway Seeds Breakfast Display - July 31
Every year at the end of July, Galloway Seeds host a customer appreciation breakfast event at their Rg Rd 225 site north of our SVTA location. Galloway Seeds has always supported us in our farming efforts and it's nice to have the opportunity to return the favour. For those of us into local history, here's a link to find out about this well known Strathcona County family and their seed farm history visit gallowayseeds.com/about-us/
This year the weatherman cooperated with a warm and sunny day for our club members. Some of us showed up just for the great breakfast and to visit. Others drove or trailered their tractors there for visitors to enjoy and then had breakfast after parking in the lineup. A lot of farm stories and discussions are always initiated when a vintage tractor is nearby. We had a pull event sign on display with pull information handouts available with more information. We had 19 vintage tractors in the display with all brands and colours making an appearance. A big thank you goes out to all who showed up at another community outing..
Canada Day Parade Fort Saskatchewan - July 1
Canada Day 2024 looked a bit iffy for weather but that didn't dampen the spirits of our club members who made their way to Fort Saskatchewan on Canada Day. Nor did the weather discourage the many thousands of people who lined the streets all along the parade route. It seemed that most of Fort Saskatchewan plus many others turned out.
We experienced periods of showers on and off but eventually it cleared by the time the parade wrapped up and the rest of the day had comfortable weather conditions.
Tom Speedie put the whole thing together for us again while Rae MacMillan was first in line this year towing the Northrup Express wagon with our August pull banners on display and a handful of passengers. We had 16 members participate with their old iron including 6 John Deeres, 3 Olivers, 3 Fords, and one each of a Cockshutt, Case, Massey Harris and a Ferguson. A big thank you goes out to all for representing our club at another Canada Day parade. It is through events like this one that our club gains exposure and good will in the community.
Pointe aux Pins Field Work - June 30
On the last day of June we finished up our field preparations at our new north site at Pointe aux Pins Acres. About a dozen members showed up along with tractors and necessary equipment to pitch in and help pick rocks and then harrow, seed and finally roll flat the 18 or so acres. Since our August pull is happening in 8 weeks and we'd like to have some semblance of grass for the event, we have decided to plant a temporary ground cover of donated wheat seed that will germinate quickly and be ready for cutting just before pull weekend. Some overnight rain that continued on into Cnada Day helped get things off to a good start.
Meanwhile, Bird Construction has completed some preliminary work for us on a new clay pulling track. somewhat wider and longer than our old one. Hopefully our electronic scale along with the scale shack, ramps and announcer's booth will be in place and ready to go in time for the weekend of August 24 & 25.
Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village Display - June 23
The weatherman was our friend on Sunday, June 23 when we showed up at the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village's annual "Vintage Days" event. Almost 150 entries were registered in their "Show and Shine" with a wide variety of classic and collectible cars, trucks, and of course our club's vintage tractors. A lot of farming memories and stories always seem to surface when chatting with visitors.
Our display featured five "retired" red tractors including Bob Beveridge's Cockshutt 20, Sten Brosbol's Massey Harris 333, Laurie Ebenal's Massey Harris 81, Steve William's Farmall A, and Val Shillinglaw's Massey Harris 50. Three of the four remaining spots were filled with John Deeres including Don Tauber's model 40, Leo Bilodeau's vintage BR, and Rae MacMillan's 1010. Patrick Givogue's prairie gold Minneapolis Moline Z rounded out our tractor roster.
Ardrossan Parade & Picnic - June 15
After a rather damp week with some heavy rain at times, the skies cleared and we had a taste of summer weather on Saturday, June 15 for the annual Ardrossan Parade and Picnic event. The Ardrossan Recreation & Ag Society started up in 1945 and this was the 70th time they hosted their parade. Our club is always happy to show up for the celebration.
Afterwards, we set up a tractor display as well as providing kids mini-train rides around the parking lot area.
We had 15 tractors in the parade and a big thank you goes out to our members who showed up with their vintage iron. Visitors enjoyed the old tractors while the youngsters lined up for their chance to ride in the train cars. Rae MacMillan organized the event for us again and towed the Northrup Express wagon which displayed our August tractor pull banners. Sten Nielsen's Kubota yard tractor saw duty as the train locomotive through the day while Sten and Ray shared engineer duties at the front end of the train.
East 50 Farming 2024
Our 2024 farming operations were limited to grain farming at our East 50 lease on Range Road 221 due to all the construction and happenings at the Pointe aux Pins (Bremner farm) location. On the second weekend in May, a total of 18 members showed up for rock picking duties. When that was happening, some of the crew serviced and made ready our three seeders and set them up for this year's wheat crop. A pizza lunch was served and then the serious business of seeding the 50 hilly acres was finished up in the afternoon. The following day, the land was compressed with a heavy roller. We had some rain during the next ten days so we expected good results from this year's crop.
Moving North - May 4&5
In preparation for our eventual move to the north field at Pointe aux Pins Acres (formerly the Bremner Farm), a dozen club members showed up on the weekend of May 4&5 to tackle the job. Once we arrived, we realized that we had a big job ahead of us. With the help of member-owned skid steers, a loader tractor and several trailers and pickup trucks, the job wrapped up on Sunday afternoon. All of our harvest equipment, machinery, and miscellaneous items were moved to the north end of the Bremner mansion orchard for temporary storage until the final layout of the north field is planned. Also moved to the orchard area were the announcers shack, gate shack, sea can, tent shelter, cattle shed, several tractors, the scale deck, scale ramp frames, and a variety of odds and ends. The scale shack and 2 grain bins were moved to the north border of the north field location. As usual, a solid effort by all of us who helped out. A huge thank you goes out to those club members involved for getting the job done.
Intelliflex Facility Tour - March 2
Attendance for the CES Intelliflex trip on March 2 was down to only a dozen members, but those of us who showed up certainly had our eyes opened with regards to the high level of technology that a local company is involved with from design to finished product. The company manufactures IMDC (Immersion Modular Data Center) units. The units provide liquid immersion cooling for computer systems that because of their massive electrical usage, produce tremendous amounts of heat. And of course, heat tends to destroy things both mechanical and electrical so sophisticated and efficient cooling systems are required. Intelliflex's advanced design features result in their products being somewhat smaller-sized yet more efficient than those of their competitors.
The specific computer systems that Intelliflex deals with are those involved with "Bitcoin Mining", the day-to-day computer operations involved with the Bitcoin cryptocurrency marketplace. Bitcoin is one of many different cryptocurrencies in use worldwide. At this time, CES Intelliflex in Acheson has a workforce of 50 but that can approach 150 when things are running full steam ahead. The shop workforce is completely made up of journeymen electricians who piece together the wide variety of componets in their 76,000 square foot facility in Acheson Industrial Park. You could expect to see Intelliflex IMDC's almost anywhere on the planet.
DFI Piling Field Trip - February 25
Our club's first outing of the year was on Sunday, February 25 when we organized a field trip to the DFI Piling facility in SE Edmonton. Club member Chris Whitford hosted the tour and 32 club members and guests showed up on what ended up being a rather wintery day. DFI is a privately owned company founded in 1969 which operates in Canada, Australia, and the USA. The Edmonton facility is located on 54 acres with 200,000 square feet of shop space. They employ 350 staff worldwide. DFI is a foundation supply and installation company that specializes in the manufacture and repair of their own scratch-built crawler cranes, picker trucks and piling equipment. In the first of two shop buildings, we toured their welding, machining, painting, automation, and final assembly areas.
We then walked over to a separate steel pipe rolling mill which uses 50,000 tons of steel each year in the manufacture of pipe ranging from 5.5" to 16" in diameter. Screwpile manufacturing is their specialty and their products can be found world wide. One interesting fact is that they actually design and fabricate most of their own manufacturing equipment that is on site. The scale and diversity of the operation can only be appreciated in person and we all had a great afternoon.
Final Farm Report 2023
In mid-August, we square-baled the hay at the "Pointe aux Pins" (PaP) site .... formerly referred to as the Bremner Farm. In early September, we turned our attention to our fall grain harvest duties at PaP and our East 50 lease alongside Rg Rd 221. At the PaP site, we had about 12 acres of oats seeded near the west end of the pulling track. We put about two acres of it through our binder and the bundles were eventually loaded into our two hay wagons for storage. We will thresh those at next year's pull event.
In mid-September we swathed 50 acres of barley at the East 50 location and then in early October we harvested that crop and stored the grain in the on-site bins. Then we harvested the remaining 10 acres of oats at PaP and trailered the grain over to the East 50 for storage. Our 2023 grain crops will be sold at a date yet to be determined.
The farm crews finished up by square-baling the straw at the two sites. In early November, the field at the East 50 was cultivated and will be ready for disking and harrowing next spring before seeding. Sales and loading of this year's grain crops will be arranged later at a time to be determined. A big thank you goes out to the members who put in so much time and work this year with our farming efforts.