MECUM GONE FARMIN’ 428 Next, Souder sought rarity. “I decided to start collecting basically not one-of-a-kind but a few-of-a-kind tractors, such as the Brockway, the Leader, things that were pretty rare.” Souder’s collection grew to include tractors from far lesser-seen brands, such as the Leader, the 1951 Brockway, a 1947 Earthmaster C, the Sheppard SD-2 Diesel (originally built in Hanover, Pennsylvania) and the 1948 Gibson H, along with some from more recognizable names like his 1951 B.F. Avery, a 1958 Oliver Super 44 and two from Minneapolis-Moline—a 1951 BF and a Jet Star Orchard. There is even a solid selection of five Cockshutts from the 1950s as well, including a Blackhawk Golden Eagle. For agricultural history buffs, Souder said this selection could be quite enticing, with these lesser-known brands having unique histories when compared to the dominant tractor companies of America’s past. “Tractors like that are not readily available, the museum-type pieces they are,” he said. “I’m going to try and get together a little history behind a few of them and send it out before the sale, but for example, the Brockway family started the Leader tractor in Akron, Ohio, I believe it was. They were forced into bankruptcy, and then they started what was called the Brockway tractor, which was made in Auburn, Ohio.” Souder also noted the Avery, which he said started from the Frick Company with a plant in Waynesboro, Pennsylvania. “Stuff like that has history,” he said. While Souder’s keeping a few tractors around for old times’ sake, such as a John Deere B, an H and a 550, he said it’s not “seed” for the start of a new collection. “I just felt as though they would do better here at home.” Ultimately, he knows that he can’t keep them all and that now is the time for some of them to go. 6 // MECUM.COM FULL PAGE AD
