Annual Illinois show to feature vintage farm equipment

A row of vintage John Deere tractors could be seen from a distance at the annual Steam Show and Fall Festival Days celebration in South Jacksonville, Illinois.
A row of vintage John Deere tractors could be seen from a distance at the annual Steam Show and Fall Festival Days celebration in South Jacksonville, Illinois.
A row of vintage John Deere tractors could be seen from a distance at the annual Steam Show and Fall Festival Days celebration in South Jacksonville, Illinois, according to The Springfield State Journal-Register.

Several South Jacksonville residents who attended the event noted that their vintage tractors were the original model that they purchased. Oscar Rutherford, an antique farm equipment enthusiast, stood by his 1946 John Deere D tractor as he explained his love for the machine.

"That was an old tractor that they had made for years. They had modernized it a lot - put a starter on it and all that," Rutherford told the Journal-Register.

The event was held for the 42nd time, as the older tractor enthusiasts showed their machines to the crowd that was full of young children. Many of the John Deere owners took time before participating in a series of events to explain the way that the farm equipment worked, according to the news source.

The Steam Show and Fall Festival Days celebration began in 1969, when a group of people interested in preserving antique farm machinery came together and organized a meeting, according to the event website.