An Indiana Getaway!

For any of you that read me, it will be no surprise that this Indiana getaway included tractors and history!

Graham Bradley get away

Graham Bradleys are part of the tractors that fall under the umbrella of brands sold through the Sears Catalogs and stores. Imagine. You could order a dress, some toys, a house, and even a tractor! Sears did it all and them some!

This years Graham Bradley & Sears Sold Tractor Club gathering was held in Winamac, Indiana. It was part of the Northern Indiana Power From the Past tractor show. The show is held the 3rd weekend in July. The gathering is a time for Graham Bradley and other Sears sold tractor collectors to get together. We renew our friendships and share all things Graham Bradley connected!

When I go to these shows, I am always looking not only for neat machines, but for cool buildings, art, and history! The show was located in the 4H Fairground which is also part of the idyllic Winamac Town Park.

Winamac Town Park

The Tippecanoe River surrounds both the park and tractor show grounds . This makes this not only a cool place, but a neat camping spot as well. In the Miami Nation Tippecanoe was the word for “buffalo fish,”!

We spied some cool decks overlooking the River. They would have been the perfect place to sit and sip!

Kids found inter tubes and rode around circling the river like a theme park. What I saw of the Tippecanoe was a quiet calm river. I am sure though that this is not always the case. Some visitors to the show camped right next to the river. They were so close they could literally come out their back door and fish!

The entrance to Winamac Town Park is flanked by stone walls. There are Native American statues on each pillar. This park has a lot to offer. The big attraction to my friend Annie Jansen and I was the wonderful walking path.

The Memorial Bridge

As we walked on the path we were excited to head right towards the Suspended Memorial Bridge. This swinging bridge was constructed in 1923. It was a memorial to Pulaski County World War I soldiers and sailors. The bridge is 200 feet in length and 4 feet wide. It’s a steel cable suspension bridge located right in the middle of the park.

On one end of the bridge is the walking path. At the other is the launch where you could put a kayak or canoe into the river. The bridge was created by the L.L. Cook Co. out of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Annie and I enjoyed a walk across the bridge. We could feel it sway, especially when we got to the middle.

From the bridge we viewed a bench where we could see a wonderful spot for a picnic or to read a book!

Other sites in Winamac Town Park

In the park besides the ball parks, play ground etc, we spied a great fireplace created by the Winamac Conservation Club. You can see remnants of a fire that burned a while back. What a cool place to have a fire on a cool evening.

The Old Barn and Garden

On Saturday morning of the show, a few of us took a ride on the golf cart out of the park and found The Old Barn and Garden. Here they sell plants and have a flea market and antiques. And yes, a barn! It was just a short ride away.

There were a lot of lovely flowers, my favorites were the hibiscus we saw. I read on their Facebook that they specialize in Hostas.

The owner had several flowers that she had been growing for years. When the summer is over, she empties out her green house that is full of neat items for sale. Then she fills it with her tropical flowers.

In the barn I found some, you guessed it, jewelry!

The tractor show

There were a lot of fun pieces of equipment in the Power from the Past show. The flea market was filled with cool items, but perhaps one of the nicest aspects of this show is the demonstrations they have available.

We saw a potato sorter, sawmill and more! There was even a cool Ford model 2000 that had once been part of the Eastern Pulaski Schools shop that was used for educational purposes. Now it is part of the 4H club and is hooked to a belt pulley and put to work.

Fun Machinery

Some of the fun machinery we saw included a Super Oliver 77 with a roller and a Centaur tractor. Perhaps best of all, was a cool homemade yellow roadster. The owner even let us pose with his beautiful machine!

Another favorite from the show was a WD Allis Chalmers. I loved that the owner shared the story of how his father on May 15,1951 purchased it from Hoch Hardware in Winamac, Indiana.

There was a quilt show in an air conditioned building. This was a blessing because the temperatures were hot, hot hot! Here I spied my favorite quilt with the Eiffel Tower. I shared the picture with my Francophile friend and we temporarily dreamed of Paris together across text lines!

Onsite their was another neat building, the Winamac Park Pavilion that was built in 1992. This building was used by the Scouts and community.

The Graham Bradley Show

James and Kourtney Fred were the hosts for the 2019 Graham Bradley show. Collectors came from the states of Wisconsin, Indiana, Illinois, New York, and Ohio. There was even a gentleman visiting from Canada. We had 32 tractors at our show and this included several of the Sears sold tractor models, Graham Bradleys, a Bradley, Sears Economy tractors, and even a BEAUTIFUL Graham Hollywood car!

For a little more history on the Graham Bradley tractors, check out other stories I’ve written on this subject.

On Saturday night we had the banquet in the nearby town of Rochester where we also lodged. We had our banquet at Jarrety’s Place. The food and location were awesome!

We had raffle items for a fund raiser for the club newsletter. Yours truly was the lucky winner of the Graham Bradley clock!

At the end of the night we took the group photo and the sad part of the evening was remembering those we lost over the year. While they were not with us physically, they were surely remembered in spirit!

Other fun dining spots

Our first evening in Rochester, a couple of us found the fun Dam Landing, located on Lake Manitou. This spot was just the place for a great lake view and fun food. Friday many of use dined at the Streamliner in Rochester which was a fun little place as well that accommodated our crowd.

Outside Alter

When stopping for gas in Winamac, we spied an outside alter that appeared almost like a Grotto. Very touching and faith filled. I think it was part of the local Catholic Church. The local Pulaski County Courthouse in Winamac also looked quite lovely as well.

Stop at Illiana Tractor Show

Just about into Illinois we spied a sign saying antique tractor and threshing show. We had to stop! One last hurrah before heading home. At the Illiana Tractor show we saw some amazing historic tractors like a Moline Universal and a very unique Minneapolis Moline 1951 ZASI. The information attached said this tractor was used to tow bombs on ships!

Best of all at this show I spied a 1921 Red Baby International Harvester (IH)Truck! This was one of the early IH trucks used by salesmen to catch attention. Beautifully restored it was my find of the day!

The Beef House

Even though we were not really dressed for it, we stopped in Covington, at the wonderful Beef House for a lupper. This wonderful restaurant has been voted Indiana’s best steak house. Splitting a meal, we splurged, then headed home ending our Indiana getaway!

I hope you enjoy reading about some of our down home fun. There is so much to see and do in the Midwest and Indiana is filled with beautiful country and history! Read on to learn about more things to do in Indiana!