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Thunderstorms likely in the morning. Then a chance of scattered thunderstorms in the afternoon. A few storms may be severe. High 81F. Winds SE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 80%..
Isolated thunderstorms during the evening, becoming clear overnight. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. Low 61F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%.
There was a lot of orange — including hundreds of Allis-Chalmers tractors — to see at the McLeod County Fairgrounds during the 2021 Orange Spectacular.
One of the Orange Spectacular’s most-popular draws is the kids pedal pull 1 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. “Those little folks really get into that pedal pull,” said Darrell Grams Sr., president of the Upper Midwest A-C Club. “It’s so much fun to watch them.”
Edwin Karg, on the tractor, and his son, Larry, founded the Upper Midwest Allis-Chalmers Club. They watched the Orange Spectacular grow in popularity from 4,500 people in 1995 to the thousands of attendees who now visit the three-day show at the McLeod County Fairgrounds.
Greg Muellerleile is part of the duo performing as 100 Years of Pickin’ 2-5 p.m. Saturday in the Pavilion at the Orange Spectacular.
Greg Muellerleile is part of the duo performing as 100 Years of Pickin’ 2-5 p.m. Saturday in the Pavilion at the Orange Spectacular.
FOR SIDEBAR: Greg Muellerleile on guitar
There was a lot of orange — including hundreds of Allis-Chalmers tractors — to see at the McLeod County Fairgrounds during the 2021 Orange Spectacular.
One of the Orange Spectacular’s most-popular draws is the kids pedal pull 1 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. “Those little folks really get into that pedal pull,” said Darrell Grams Sr., president of the Upper Midwest A-C Club. “It’s so much fun to watch them.”
Edwin Karg, on the tractor, and his son, Larry, founded the Upper Midwest Allis-Chalmers Club. They watched the Orange Spectacular grow in popularity from 4,500 people in 1995 to the thousands of attendees who now visit the three-day show at the McLeod County Fairgrounds.
Greg Muellerleile is part of the duo performing as 100 Years of Pickin’ 2-5 p.m. Saturday in the Pavilion at the Orange Spectacular.
Greg Muellerleile is part of the duo performing as 100 Years of Pickin’ 2-5 p.m. Saturday in the Pavilion at the Orange Spectacular.
FOR SIDEBAR: Greg Muellerleile on guitar
Allis-Chalmers fans are counting down the days until the fourth weekend in July when the three-day Orange Spectacular takes place Friday through Sunday, July 22-24, at the McLeod County Fairgrounds in Hutchinson.
Thousands of enthusiasts are expected to flood the gates to experience all things orange (and a few green). Darrell Grams Sr., president of the Upper Midwest A-C Club, said, “It’s still recognized as the largest single brand tractor show in the United States.”
This year the Orange Spectacular is featuring the 50th anniversary of the Allis-Chalmers 200 tractor and the 200 tractor plowing team. It is also acknowledging the 100th anniversary of the 20-35 tractor, as well as the 50th anniversary of the 616 garden tractor.
While most folks might think of a tractor show as being a guy thing, they’d be wrong in the case of the Orange Spectacular, which is billed as an all-age event with free admission and free parking.
“We ask people to help us out by buying raffle tickets,” Grams said. “That’s our only source of income, so we don’t have to charge admission. We want to make it possible for families to come out for a day or two without a large financial investment. We get a lot of families that bring their children and just enjoy the day. It always amazes me when you see these young children who have never seen these tractors and field demonstrations. Field demos are really popular for the kids. ... Our whole goal is to make this attractive for a family to come out and have fun and not spend a fortune doing so.”
As much as free admission is a draw, the site of the Orange Spectacular — the McLeod County Fairgrounds — helps too.
“The fairgrounds are wonderful,” Grams said. “It works out so well for us. People can get easily around. We also rent golf carts, so everybody can get a chance to see everything. The grounds are very well kept and the roads are paved. People can see the whole show, if they can’t walk it. We try to prepare this show that anyone of any age with any health conditions can enjoy it.”
Grams said as long as he is president, the club would never charge admission to get into the show.
“It’s getting more and more difficult each year because our costs increase each year,” he said. “I’m fortunate to be president of this club. Without all the volunteer help we wouldn’t be able to pull this off. There’s something going on all day, every day, 8-5.”
Popular draws for children are the kiddie tractor pull and the barrel train. All ages look forward to the field demonstrations where threshing and combining take place.
“Field demonstrations are always popular,” Grams said. “We do threshing of grain. We cut wheat bundles this past weekend. We store them until the show. We do threshing every day, combining every day. They bale the straw and plow the ground, some of that activity everyday. It always draws a big crowd. A couple years ago we built two people movers to get people from the fairgrounds to the field. There are bleachers so people can observe.”
Allis-Chalmers toy collectors look forward to the annual announcement of the Orange Spectacular’s limited-edition toy release. This year it was the Allis-Chalmers 281 manure spreader. Grams said he had his doubts how it would go over, but his concern proved to be unfounded because the 800 available units sold out.
This isn’t a cheap throwaway. This year’s collectible sells for $149 plus $15 shipping.
“For most of our show toys, there’s a limited quantity never to be made again,” Grams said. “Usually within a couple of years, it’s worth more than they paid for it. That’s what helps sell our toys. We limit production numbers, so as time moves on they become more valuable (rather) than less valuable. They’re made of die-cast metal, very high quality, very detailed. We’ve been doing this for about eight years now. Since we’ve made our toys out of die-cast metal, they sell so much better because of the quality.”
It’s not surprising with the popularity of the show’s toy release that the toy show in the Commercial Building is a popular attraction. Another favorite is the swap meet.
“The swap meet is between the main show grounds and grandstand,” Grams said. “It’s one of the largest swap meets around. People come from many states to sell. It’s not exclusively A-C, but a very large percentage of it is.”
While the Orange Spectacular provides plenty of fun for all, it also has a serious side, which is its annual scholarship auction. This is the 10th year for the auction. The club began awarding scholarships in 2013, and so far it has given more than $14,500 to students going into a variety of fields.
This year’s auction and scholarship fund will be dedicated in memory of Shirley Grams, Darrell’s wife, who died in January. It will take place at 5:30 p.m. Saturday in the Pavilion.
“She was always my right hand,” he said. “She had a special tractor and that will be at the show. As far as I know, my children have made a special sign for it.”
The tractor is a family legend. Darrell bought it in pieces — it was partially taken apart with parts in boxes. When he brought it home, his wife asked what he planned to do with it. To ease the pain of the purchase, so to speak, he said it was to be her tractor. After three or four years had gone by, the couple were in Arizona when two of their sons stepped up and put it all back together. By the time they returned home, it was almost done and Mom had her tractor.
“She was so proud of that,” Grams said. “She’d drive it in the parade. She had never driven a tractor before that in her life. I told my sons, ‘You guys are going to have to teach her to drive,’ and they did. That was the highlight of her year when she could drive that at the Orange Spectacular. It’s something we looked forward to every year.”
While plenty of attendees come from the five-state area, the show draws nationally and internationally.
“We have people coming from numerous states,” Grams said. “Recently, I got a call from someone from southern Georgia, who had never been here, but had heard so much about it. They were driving up to attend the Orange Spectacular and take extra time to travel. It’s unbelievable how far people will come. We have friends that come every year from England. They attended every show during the past 10 years.”
What sets this couple apart is that they buy A-C equipment during their annual visit.
“This couple has a collection in England,” he said. “Every year or two, they get enough to ship in a container. They buy here and ship it over there. They’re very careful with their dollars. They make sure they get the container completely full because it costs about $4,000. We make sure it’s full. Weight doesn’t matter. Price goes by the size of the container.”
Next up for the Midwest A-C Club is groundbreaking for its new building along Airport Road, south of the fairgrounds. The site is marked with a piece of A-C equipment.
Plans were to break ground in April, but questions about the plans have delayed it. It’s possible it could happen during the Orange Spectacular, but Grams isn’t sure yet.
“We wanted to tie in a groundbreaking ceremony with the show, but we’ve had a couple of questions come up,” he said. “The city is reviewing everything. We hope to hear something this week. There maybe a few things we may need to do yet, but we have a contractor signed up. We have materials locked in price wise and as soon as we get the building permit, we can start. We hope to have the building up and usable by fall.”
The proposed building is 62 feet by 160 feet, with the front 62 feet to be used for a meeting room with bathroom and kitchen facilities. For now, that’s on hold with the space dedicated for storage. The back 100 feet will have a higher roof, so it can be used for storing machinery, attachments and implements. It may also be the home of an A-C exhibit.
“We have a gentleman in northern Minnesota who has a desire to donate his entire collection to us,” Grams said. ... When we get the building done, we’ll prepare to get the eight restored pieces that are very nicely done.”
In addition to storage, Grams said they have a member, who after he retires, would like to move to Hutchinson and teach children about agriculture from the past.
“We’re starting to get younger people that are exhibiting tractors,” Grams said. “We just got a board member in his 30s. That’s great.”
With that said, the Midwest A-C Club and the Orange Spectacular are ready to share the story of the brand this weekend and into the future.
With a show as large as the Orange Spectacular, it feels good to take a break, enjoy a bite to eat and visit with new and old friends. One place to do this is the Pavilion, which also features three days of live music. This year's performers include:
For a schedule of this year's Orange Spectacular events, visit orangespectacular.com/show-schedule/.
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