Saturday, May 6, 2023 | Country Acres South • Page 1 PRSRT STD ECR U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT #278 Madelia, MN 522 Sinclair Lewis Ave Sauk Centre MN 56378
SOUTH H Saturday, May 6, 2023
Focusing on Today’s Rural Environment
Volume 1, Edition ion 23
A hobby he can PHOTOS BY AMY KYLLO
Hale collects antique tractors
(Above) Brian and Gayle Hale stand with an International 660 Wheatland April 5 in the Hales’ shed in Pine Island. Brian is looking for an International Harvester Wheatland 706 or 806 as his next purchase.
BY AMY KYLLO | STAFF WRITER
PINE ISLAND – It is the mid 1960s and a very little boy perched atop a 1951 Allis Chalmers CA is driving a tractor for the first time. The tractor belongs to Grandpa Grover, and he is probably letting his grandson, Brian Hale, drive tractor much sooner than his parents would like. Today, Brian is all grown up, but the Allis Chalmers still owns a place in his heart, and his shed. Brian and his wife Gayle own an antique tractor collection that is 21 tractors strong. Their collection is branded “All Hat Farmalls.” The name came from an interaction Brian had with an old farmer, who found out that Brian simply collected tractors and did not have land or a farm, and said Brian was one of those “all hat” guys. The name appealed, and the Hales’ collection name was born. Brian has a background in agriculture. He grew up on a crop, cattle and hog farm in northeast Iowa. His collection of tractors started with family tractors. Brian is not the first in the family to collect tractors, his dad enjoyed collecting, and attended tractor clubs and parades. “I got dragged along because I was labor,” Brian said. Brian’s dad was integral for his first antique tractor purchase. The plan was to buy a Farmall C together with a one row corn planter attached. However, Brian’s mother wanted kitchen cabinets instead, so Brian ended up buying the tractor outright. When Brian’s father passed away unexpectedly, he had a decision to make about one of his dad’s tractors, a Farmall Super C. “We actually had one [the Farmall Super C] of Dad’s tractors sold,” Brian said. “The morning that guy was going to come get it, I called him and said, ‘I’m sorry, but I decided I can’t sell.’” Though Brian already had several antique tractors, that day became a turning point for their collection. “That’s when Gayle and I probably officially decided we’re gonna become tractor collectors,” Brian said.
A 1938 Farmall F-20 stands April 5 in the Hales’ shed in Pine Island. Brian Hale likes to collect tractors that were part of his family farm growing up.
Farmall tractors line the back side of the Hales’ shed in Pine Island. The Hales’ have 21 tractors in their collection.
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