Archived Past Pages:

2007 pages

2008 pages

2009 pages

2010 pages

2011 pages

020312

021812

022312

031612

040812

050312

070112

W e e k l y   F e a t u r e   P a g e
Links to archived past pages on lower left

The following article was submitted by Traci (Newland) Weston,
the photo's were provided by Greg Newland. Both are grandchildren of Wilbur Schneider.

A collection of Olivers…and it all started with a paint job. Wilbur Schneider, my grandpa, first started his Oliver collection by trading a paint job on his neighbor’s car for a tractor. The tractor happened to be a 1935 Oliver Hart-Parr 70. This tractor marked the first tractor he restored as the start of his collection. He grew up with Olivers, as his father had always farmed with them. So being around Oliver tractors was nothing new for him. He then went on to purchase his first tractor. It was a 1949 Oliver 77. He used this tractor in the fields to farm with and to this day he still owns it. As the years went on Wilbur continued to restore Oliver tractors and it wasn’t long before his only son, John Schneider, started following in his father’s footsteps. Wilbur did a lot of the mechanical work on the restorations and his son John did all the painting, as he had that special touch with a paint sprayer. It didn’t take long for John’s son, Willie, to get into the action as well. As an FFA project in grade school, Willie restored a Model 18-27 Hart-Parr with the help of his dad and grandpa. Between the three of them they now own around 35 restored Oliver tractors, and the collection keeps on growing! Even to this day, they still use a number of them on the farm.

Some of their favorites include a 1956 Oliver Super 44 due to its rare sightings in today’s world and a 1954 Oliver Super 99 because of its size. The most challenging restoration they have seen to this day is a 1950 Oliver 77 orchard tractor. The tractors massive amount of sheet metal makes for a difficult restoration, but this will not stop these boys in their tracks. There is nothing they can’t tackle as a team.

In 2007 the collection appeared in the Chesaning Showboat parade with each of Wilbur’s 12 grandkids and their spouses driving a tractor in the parade. This was not only a special moment for my grandpa to display all of his hard work, but it was special for each of us grandkids as we got to see how proud our grandpa was to see all of us together sharing in something he had so much pride in. It’s a moment we will never forget.

There are also several family members that participate in tractor pulling. I have always heard stories about my grandpa pulling back in the day, but have never actually witnessed it as he hung up that hat long ago. From what I hear he was quite the puller and actually started pulling with the first tractor he had ever purchased to work on his farm, a 1949 Oliver 77. Now, instead of pulling, he gets to sit in the stands and cheer on his family, as they all pull Olivers. The pulling members of his family include his son John, Son-in-Law Terry Newland and several grandchildren and their spouses including Willie Schneider, Missy Schneider, Charlene Schneider, Brian Talbot, Steven Korf, Traci Weston, Greg Newland, & Luke Newland. We are even putting that Oliver pride into the youngest of the family, Wilbur’s great grandchildren who participate in the peddle pull out at the Old Gas Show Grounds which include Johnny Talbot, Ellie Talbot, Issac Beougher, and Adam Weston.

Every year, we as a family, look forward to the Mid Michigan Old Gas Tractor Show held in Oakley, MI. It is a time where we can all get together, see the Oliver collection in its entirety, and watch how my grandpa lights up to tell a stranger walking by about his tractors. He takes so much pride in what he; his son John and grandson Willie have created. It is literally a collection of Olivers!

(Click on photos to enlarge)

©2007-2012 Mid Michigan Old Gas Tractor Association (MMOGTA). The contents of all materials available on this Internet site are copyrighted by Mid Michigan Old Gas Tractor Association (MMOGTA) unless otherwise indicated. All rights are reserved by Mid Michigan Old Gas Tractor Association (MMOGTA), and content may not be reproduced, downloaded, disseminated, published, or transferred in any form or by any means, except with the prior written permission of Mid Michigan Old Gas Tractor Association (MMOGTA). Any unauthorized usage on newsgroups, or other internet sites, or unauthorized reproduction, printing or sales of these images is prohibited under existing Federal Copyright laws of the United States. We will actively prosecute those that duplicate, distribute or otherwise use our images without express written authorization or release. Mid Michigan Old Gas Tractor Association (MMOGTA) maintains this website to enhance public access to information about its functions and policies in general. Our goal is to keep this information timely and accurate. If errors are brought to our attention, we will try to correct them as soon as possible. Mid Michigan Old Gas Tractor Association (MMOGTA), however, accepts no responsibility or liability whatsoever with regard to the material on this site.