Ag Museum Tractors go to the State Fair

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WOODLAND, CALIF –  “As the region revives its roots and embraces agriculture,  the California State Fair has also seen a resurgence of its roots that are squarely seated in one of the most bountiful agricultural regions,” indicates Rich Jenness, President of the California Agriculture Museum.  “The California Agriculture Museum was asked to loan tractors to the State Fair at Cal Expo.  “We’re delighted to be represented in the agriculture gardens, the Yolo County Exhibit, and the Sacramento Area Museum Exhibit -- all located in or around Building B.”

 

This has been a year of traveling exhibits for the museum thanks to the generosity of the California Humanities, Cal-Expo, Valley Truck and Tractor and many others.  But we’ve left the jewels of the collection at the museum in Woodland for safekeeping.  The Executive Director of the California Agriculture Museum, Lorili Ostman, tells us that the Caterpillar Expo 10 is a tractor worth attention.  Located at the museum, it made its debut at the California State Fair grounds in 1928 and continues to be touted as the smallest machine made by Caterpillar.  They gave it a fancy paint job because it was a marketing tool that traveled to most every fair and machinery show in the twenty’s.  Women and children were showcased as machine operators and this tractor became another symbol of user friendly mechanization that continued to replace horses and mules on homesteads and commercial enterprises.   The Expo 10, named for the expositions it traveled to, still runs.  Rusty Luchessi boasts that, “we showed it off when we were at Santa Margarita earlier this year with the National Antique Caterpillar Machinery Owner’s show.  More than 400 tractors made the trip from as far as the Rockies.”  It is History in Motion. 

 

“We encourage you to stop by the museum during your trek to the State Fair or your agricultural pilgrimages this year.”  “Learn more about the Expo 10 that sits on a pedestal just like it did in 1928 when music played and festivities were in high swing,” says Ostman,” you’ll also want to inquire about our most recent catalog that features the line of exposition models that influenced innovation that had its beginnings in California.

 

Right off of I-5, the California Agriculture Museum is located at 1962 Hays Lane in Woodland, California, just 20 minutes from Sacramento and Davis. Admission and donations support this California treasure.  And, its located in the heart of some of the most fertile agricultural areas in the state. Regular museum hours are 10:00AM to 4:00PM Tuesday through Saturday.  View www.CaliforniaAgMuseum.Org for more information. 

 

 

The California Agriculture Museum is home to the nation's most unique collection of tractors and agriculture artifacts – you’ll ask what it was like 100 years ago when you set your sights on big steamers and bug like contraptions.  The museum is dedicated to enhancing understanding and appreciation of California's rich cultural heritage through the presentation of its collection and rotating exhibits.  The museum's core collection was established by Fred C Heidrick Senior and consists of rare examples of tractors, harvesters, horse-drawn wagons, and other artifacts that tell the California Story. 

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