Oacar's Dreamland
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In 1968, Oscar Cook, Billings, Mont., re-tired after 40 years of ranching and farm equipment sales. Soon after, he decided to share his collection of rare tractors, steam engines, tools, and other equipment by opening his doors to the public. His wife Marcia hit upon the perfect name for the new tourist destination - "Oscar's Dreamland".
The name stuck and since then the 92-year-old farmer, who was born in 1901 near Emporia, Kan., and was at one time a farm-based dealer for Rumely Tractor and later became one of the largest Allis Chalmers dealers in the nation, has ushered thousands of visitors through his farm.
In 1957, when Oscar sold out his dealership and moved to a ranch in Montana, he started his tractor collection with the purchase of a 1920 Oil-Pull Rumely. Over the next 10 years, he bought many antique tractors across the country, putting the more than 300 pieces on display on a 160-acre site near Billings.
In 1974, at the age of 74, Oscar began working in earnest on both collecting and restoring. Storage and display buildings were set up and the collection grew rapidly as he developed new interests. The collection today numbers over 10,000 items and requires 152,000 sq. ft. of indoor display space as well as 18 acres outdoors. Included are collections of tractor seats (300), original frontier buildings (10), construction and military equipment, airplanes and airplane engines, boat motors, hand tools, a working 1920 ferris wheel, a 1900 merry-go-round and swing, antique watches, the world's largest revolving clock, steam engines and tractors, wagons, drilling equipment, and much more.
The more than 500 tractors are the stars of the show. Nearly all run. Oscar tells visitors they've been "restored to the way they were when last at work". They come in all shapes and sizes. Some of the biggest attention-getters are a 110 Best, a steampowered giant that was the forerunner of the Caterpillar line; Kerosene Annie, the prototype of the Rumely tractor line; and various rare Allis Chalmers, Massey, Case and other brands. One of the most unusual tractors is one that starts with a shotgun shell.
The collection is open daily to the public in the summer and son Riley Cooke now manages the operation. He says the operation keeps no duplicates of machines and that at the current time they have a few rare machines for sale at "bargain basement" prices: a Caterpillar 60, 2 Cat 30's, 2 Allis Chalmers K Travelers, a 20/35 Allis Chalmers, and a Wallis Cub.
For more information, contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Oscar's Dreamland, 4745 Hesper Rd., Billings, Mont. 59106 (ph 406 245-4598).
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Oacar's Dreamland AG WORLD Ag World 18-6-20 In 1968, Oscar Cook, Billings, Mont., re-tired after 40 years of ranching and farm equipment sales. Soon after, he decided to share his collection of rare tractors, steam engines, tools, and other equipment by opening his doors to the public. His wife Marcia hit upon the perfect name for the new tourist destination - "Oscar's Dreamland".
The name stuck and since then the 92-year-old farmer, who was born in 1901 near Emporia, Kan., and was at one time a farm-based dealer for Rumely Tractor and later became one of the largest Allis Chalmers dealers in the nation, has ushered thousands of visitors through his farm.
In 1957, when Oscar sold out his dealership and moved to a ranch in Montana, he started his tractor collection with the purchase of a 1920 Oil-Pull Rumely. Over the next 10 years, he bought many antique tractors across the country, putting the more than 300 pieces on display on a 160-acre site near Billings.
In 1974, at the age of 74, Oscar began working in earnest on both collecting and restoring. Storage and display buildings were set up and the collection grew rapidly as he developed new interests. The collection today numbers over 10,000 items and requires 152,000 sq. ft. of indoor display space as well as 18 acres outdoors. Included are collections of tractor seats (300), original frontier buildings (10), construction and military equipment, airplanes and airplane engines, boat motors, hand tools, a working 1920 ferris wheel, a 1900 merry-go-round and swing, antique watches, the world's largest revolving clock, steam engines and tractors, wagons, drilling equipment, and much more.
The more than 500 tractors are the stars of the show. Nearly all run. Oscar tells visitors they've been "restored to the way they were when last at work". They come in all shapes and sizes. Some of the biggest attention-getters are a 110 Best, a steampowered giant that was the forerunner of the Caterpillar line; Kerosene Annie, the prototype of the Rumely tractor line; and various rare Allis Chalmers, Massey, Case and other brands. One of the most unusual tractors is one that starts with a shotgun shell.
The collection is open daily to the public in the summer and son Riley Cooke now manages the operation. He says the operation keeps no duplicates of machines and that at the current time they have a few rare machines for sale at "bargain basement" prices: a Caterpillar 60, 2 Cat 30's, 2 Allis Chalmers K Travelers, a 20/35 Allis Chalmers, and a Wallis Cub.
For more information, contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Oscar's Dreamland, 4745 Hesper Rd., Billings, Mont. 59106 (ph 406 245-4598).
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