Half Century of Progress Show Report

The Half Century of Progress show in Rantoul, Illinois was held August 24 through 27, 2023. Several friends of Yellow Power initiated conversations with the show management to allow the inclusion of track type tractors. Previously, there was virtually no participation from this class of tractors for several reasons. The fact that the Rantoul municipal airport is still an active runway and as such, falls under the jurisdiction of the FAA lends caution to the promoters.

The show grounds are located on the remains of the Chanute Air Force base that was decommissioned in 1993. In the ensuing years, the Air Force turned ownership over to the Village of Rantoul who established the Rantoul National Aviation Center. Consequently, the active runways and their physical health is a concern. As we all know, crawler tractors are prone to impacting hard surfaces. Nonetheless, the organizers were able to convince the show committee and the Rantoul officials that if the crawler element of the show were given a section of land that allowed limited plowing and grading demonstrations, we would not need to cross any hard surfaced runways. If the need arose, a flatbed trailer was available to facilitate safe passage from one parcel to the other. By and large, the crawlers present were able to operate and provide entertainment to the many interested show attendees.

Members Mike Timmons and David Tallon worked with member Clayton Smith to organize the contingent of crawler collectors. Yellow Power worked in concert with The Heartland Earthmovers chapter, Tempered Tracks and Rustic Rails to formulate a presence that would represent not only Caterpillar brand machines, but others as well. There were some unique machines present, including the 20,000th D4, a Holt combine, and a D5 9M, all courtesy of Chuck Ehler. Justin Click provided additional historic content by bringing his Caterpillar Sixty with diesel conversion and a very nice “working clothes” Holt 45. Will Peterson’s Holt Sixty provided drama with the unique pony motor starter retrofitted on the machine. There were several D2s, D4s, a D6 and a Fifty represented as well as a gas Sixty, a couple of Thirties, a Twenty, a Fifteen and a few Tens. In addition, Joe Mancusso displayed 3 Caterpillar power units with cooling capacity to benefit the curious. His vintage fuel tank was also impressive.

Joining the obvious Caterpillar machines were a host of other brands powered by Cat Diesels. The included list below gives a good spread of the manufacturers who have been repowered with dependable Cat motive power.

Besides the big iron, Yellow Power shared a tent with the Heartland Earthmovers and provided considerable merchandise to be sold. Using some time-honored techniques to attract potential customers (and members), there were several interesting smaller items of attention ringing the tent. Dave Tallon brought his factory-fresh Caterpillar “RW-1.” The accompanying factory data sheet led many to acknowledge their questionable knowledge of the existence of the “prototype.” Chuck Ehler’s D5 was juxtaposed with the Altorfer Cat’s display of a current D5. The difference in technology is striking, while the rarity of Chuck’s 9M is also impressive. Perhaps the smallest “Cat” present was Bruce Vinkler’s “Hot Rod” D4 pedal tractor with racing stripes and chrome blade.

Several members of Yellow Power spent the Wednesday and Thursday in the steam-bath heat setting up and purveying merchandise and memberships to the impressive crowd. Despite the oppressive heat and humidity, President Dave Wintermute and his wife Joann, Pete Bloom and his mother Cathy, John and Loma Berndsen, Tom Stanesa and his generous use of trailer transport, Art and Linda Reed, Dave Tallon, Mary and Jim Clark, Bruce Vinkler and Kent Bates all spent time interacting with interested folks. The dry conditions were briefly threatened with an ominous rain storm that skirted the grounds Friday night. Perhaps it was a blessing as previous rain events have transformed the grounds into a mud pit.

The show is a semi-annual event, thus Yellow Power is hopeful to return in 2025. Our presence was an obvious benefit to the multitude of other machine types and garnered substantial interest. Member Clayton Smith acted as an intermediary with the Progress Show officials and helped coordinate working displays and track-type transport between fields. Our breakdown on Sunday left the site clean and pristine as noted by the show organizers. Our hope is that the future show will welcome our repeated presence and potential earth moving displays.

I’d also like to thank Dave Tallon for confirming and contributing details for this story. He was kind enough to share the following exhibitor’s list.

Rantoul Exhibitor List