Thresher Reunion 2024: McClures' eclectic tractor collection transcends brand

BY SHAWN LOUGHLIN

The featured tractor at this year’s reunion of the Huron Pioneer Thresher and Hobby Association will not have to travel far to make its way to Blyth as its owners, Bill and Sharon McClure, live on the first farm south of Winthrop, just 15 minutes from the village.

The couple’s 1952 Cockshutt 30 impressed the judges last year when it was part of the reunion and they decided to feature it, ensuring it would return for the 2024 installment.

The McClures have a small collection, with just a handful of tractors, but what is striking upon arriving at their farm is the diversity of the machinery in their collection. In a world of brand enthusiasts who will tell anyone who will listen that they bleed green or blue or red, Bill has a bit of this and a bit of that. And while some of that can be attributed to him taking on machines from friends and family members here and there, he has some of his own as well that have history for his family or his business, from which he has since retired. 

Bill describes himself as a “tinkerer” and he will keep tractors, small bulldozers and everything in between for years - decades sometimes - until he gets around to fixing them, though he always makes sure to get around to it. He says that, for people who get into antique farm machinery, tractors, steam engines and more, knowing how to fix them and enjoying the process is essentially a prerequisite, because it would be too expensive to have someone else fix the machines and the pool of people capable of doing it is shrinking all the time.

Bill spent much of his life in farm drainage as a part owner of KMM Farm Drainage in nearby Walton, where Bill says many family members still reside. He said there was a time that they farmed, but with the revenue they were seeing through farm drainage, it made sense to focus all of his attention there.

He says he’s always had an interest in the older farm equipment and how it works. That’s what’s led to his collection and being a regular at steam shows and tractor pull events over the years.

It’s been about 25 years that Bill has been attending the Thresher Reunion in Blyth. He says his big three events over the years have been steam shows in Blyth and Mitchell and the Seaforth Fall Fair. He usually makes an effort to have a tractor in those three events/parades and it’s been like that for years.

He says he’s been wanting to spend more time at the steam show in Paisley each year, but it’s always on the same weekend as the National Tractor Pulling Championships, held in Bowling Green, Ohio in mid-August every year and for years he’s prioritized the art of tractor pulling in what’s known affectionately as “Pulltown”.

Bill has two Cockshutt tractors, as well as two Allis Chalmers tractors and a few John Deere machines as well - a truly eclectic mix of machinery. He says he’s never felt a sense of allegiance to one brand or another. Furthermore, he says he’s not too particular about the machines. He wants them to run and to be able to ride them in the fields and into the bush if necessary, so he’s never been too concerned about gussying the tractors up too much or repainting them, as much as some people may encourage him to.