Finding Minnesota: In retirement, man's pedal tractor collection now approaches 250 in number
BROWNS VALLEY, Minn. -- That western part of the state that looks like it's jutting into South Dakota is called the "Minnesota Bump." That's where you'll find a pedal tractor collection that's taken over an entire machine shed.
In a few weeks, fall harvest will begin and small towns everywhere will be crawling with trucks, tractors, and combines. Browns Valley is no different.
"You see the big combines come through once in a while," Gary Hobbs said. "It's a sight to see. It's nice."
But a few miles out of town, David Nigg has his eyes on a different kind of machinery. Now retired, he could've gone golfing or fishing. Instead, he chose to collect pedal tractors.
"I don't know, guess you can't take the farm out of the boy, I guess," Nigg said.
He is also proof that you're never too old to play with tractors, or at least collect them. Years ago, he found himself at a farm auction in Dyersville, Iowa, and he returned home with a little John Deere tractor. From there, things just started rolling.
"Started out, I had 15, 20 of them, and then all of the sudden I had 240," he said.
Again, that's 240 — and counting. His oldest is a 1947 Graham-Bradley. His rarest is a 1950 Massey-Harris. The hunt is part of the fun. He finds pedal tractors on eBay and at auctions.
Over time, he turned his machine shed into a museum. When he ran out of space on the walls, he started using the ceiling. Most of the tractors on display are a little over 3 feet long and weigh nearly 80 pounds.
The first pedal tractors were made out of cast iron, which means they are obviously pretty strong. But a grown man can't really pedal them because their knees would be up by their ears. Riding is for the kids.
There are also grain carts, combines, and sprayers in his collection. But tractors are his first love. He can spend a few thousand dollars on some of the older ones. His dream is to get a 1949 John Deere with a coffin block. There were only a handful of them made, so the going rate on eBay is $72,000.
At least his wife is on board with what he already has, for now anyway.
"It gotten to be a thing of it's not the kids that collect them anymore, it's the grown-ups now," he said.
You can take a tour of his pedal tractor museum at his farm near Browns Valley. For more information, call 605-880-1806.
