CENTRE HALL — The Nittany Antique Machinery Association recently held its annual fall show, featuring 800 tractors of all brands — with some dating back nearly 100 years — at Penns Cave. Each year, the show highlights one brand of farm equipment, and this year it was the orange machines of the Allis-Chalmers Company.
Allis-Chalmers was formed in 1901 as an amalgamation of four companies: the Edward P. Allis Company, a manufacturer of steam engines and mill equipment; Fraser & Chalmers, a mining and ore milling equipment company; the Gates Iron Works, which made rock and cement milling equipment; and the industrial business line of the Dickson Manufacturing Company, which specialized in engines and compressors. It was reorganized in 1912 as the Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Company.
During the next 70 years, the company’s industrial machinery filled countless mills, mines and factories around the world, and its bright orange tractors and silver combine harvesters became familiar sights on farms across the land. In 1932, A-C was the first company to replace steel-cleated wheels with rubber tires on their tractors, which quickly became the industry standard.
In the 1980s and 1990s, a series of divestitures transformed the firm and eventually dissolved it.
NAMA secretary Bob Corman said the fall show had 133 Allis-Chalmers machines registered.
Although agricultural equipment is the focus of the NAMA show, it also featured a display of antique cars and trucks on the south end of the grounds. In the display were a dozen Studebaker automobiles owned by members of the Studebaker Drivers Club.
“We have over 12,000 members around the world,” said Dennis Foust, of Centre Hall, who is a member and international meet chairman of the club. Foust’s own 1954 Studebaker coupe was included in the NAMA display, and he currently is working on restoring a 1937 Studebaker pickup truck.
“We’re planning to be back next year with more cars,” Foust said.
The Studebaker Company evolved from a family of German immigrant blacksmiths making Conestoga wagons, beginning in 1750. Studebaker entered the car business by building an electric in 1902 and, two years later, brought out its first gasoline automobile — a two-cylinder, 16-horsepower touring car. The last Studebakers were made in 1966.
The NAMA show also featured antique tractor pulls, and parades of tractors and equipment were held at 11 a.m. each day. A huge flea market was manned by 800 vendors.
NAMA’s first show was held at Penns Cave farm in September 1975. With that show’s success, the fall show became an annual event, held on the first weekend after Labor Day. It is now believed to be the largest of its kind east of the Mississippi River, and many additions have been made to the show grounds, including a museum, library and a huge flea market.
NAMA also hosts an annual spring show on the first weekend after Memorial Day.
