Bill and Janice Renken of Brunsville will display their collection of Allis-Chalmers tractors and machinery during the Memorial Day weekend. [Click to enlarge]

Bill and Janice Renken will have their Allis-Chalmers tractors lined up on their farmstead on the south side of Brunsville for visitors to see this weekend.

Renken started his love of tractors with his dad's 1940 WC Allis-Chalmers, the first tractor he drove.

He caught the collecting bug from his uncle, Garieth Renken, who was a member of the Pioneer Machinery Club.

"He got me going," said Renken. "Then I met Harry Bonnema and that whole group at the Plymouth County Fair with their displays."

That's when he decided to start his collection.

While the majority of his 20 tractor collection is Allis-Chalmers orange, he also has two Farmalls, one a 1957 Cub Farmall and an Oliver.

His oldest model is a 1934 Allis-Chalmers WC, while another special implement is the JD corn check planter, which was produced from 1910 to 1953. "That's a long time," Renken noted.

(Advertisement)

"You have to have a little bit of variety," he said with a smile.

After getting the grass mowed "one more time," Bill and Janice will get the tractors out and lined up. On Sunday and Monday they'll polish the dust off of them. Renken's hint for cleaning is windshield washer, which doesn't hurt the paint finish.

The couple decided to do their display on Memorial Day weekend, as the American Legion post hosts a service and people come into the town.

"That's small town America," Renken said of the Legion and the Memorial Day service.

"We've done the display a lot of years," he said.

Renken calls the Pioneer Machinery Club "a real nice club."

He enjoys taking part in tractor rides and being in parades with his tractors.

Now his grandsons are getting involved in the rides and parades.

"They have a great time and the senior members of the club welcome them and respect them," Renken said. "You know, few kids get to do that anymore."

He also enjoys taking his tractors to the club's display at the Plymouth County Fair. "The club has a large display and we get treated so well there," Renken said.

He also shares is love of tractors at activities at the Plymouth County Historical Museum.

Both Bill and Janice have a love for the tractors. "She gets attached to them, too," he said with a smile. "She's supportive of the hobby."

Renken is also a member of a pioneer machinery club in Elkhorn, Neb., with friend Darrell Oltmanns, a former Brunsville area resident. Oltmanns in turn, is a member of the Le Mars area club. That club is planning a bus trip to the Le Mars area during the Fourth of July weekend, where they will tour Renken's display and that of Dave Hawkins north of Le Mars, and take time to visitor the Ice Cream Capital of the World Visitor Center.

"That's the fun part about all of this, the people you meet," Renken said.