Amazing IH Museum Housed In On-Farm Building
Retired electrician and lover of all things Farmall, Harold Metternich is a Red Power collector extraordinaire. “Some people think I’m a bit eccentric because of my museum, but I really want to preserve things that otherwise might just rust away and disappear forever,” Metternich says. He bought the old building that houses the museum in 2009 and in less than a decade has amassed hundreds of items.
Harold and his wife Ruth Ann travel far and wide to collect vintage Farmall and International Harvester equipment that’s often 60 to 80 years old. They bring the rusted and old equipment back to the museum workshop where Harold dismantles, cleans, repairs, and then re-assembles every piece. Everything in his museum is in working order and practically new condition. The Metternichs open the musuem to the public from May through October for anyone who wants a walk through agricultural history.
Their collection includes haying equipment such as mowers, hay loaders, tedders, rakes and balers to old corn shellers, grinder-mixers, and feed mills. There’s a large group of cream separators, household appliances, lawn mowers, a 60-year-old International snowblower, and old signage and posters. A 2-row beet planter, a potato digger, a bean cultivator and old corn sheller are other rare items. Restored tractors along one wall date back to the 40s, 50s and 60s while another section is dedicated to fire control.
“I was a member of the local fire department for more than 50 years and I always wanted a truck for the museum,” Metternich says. “When a 1961 C0190 came up for sale in New York, I bought it and drove it home.” The 730-mile trip was uneventful because Metternich says the truck was barely broken in, with only 15,000 miles on the odometer.
Metternich is always excited to show off the rare IH fanning mill, a McCormick Deering Chattanooga plow, and a one-horse grain drill that was never used. Metternich says it was ordered in Pennsylvania and was still in the original box when he acquired it.
The Farmall Museum also has dairy items including milk coolers, milkers, cream separators, and cow stanchions. Two hay cars, made in Ohio, belonged to his father and his father-in-law.
Rounding out the rare items in his collection are old Farmall metal seats, a neon IH clock, an IH Titan gas turbine as well as vintage IH oil and gas memorabilia.
Even though he’s closing in on 80 years old, Metternich says he intends on continuing his extraordinary hobby. “There’s still things out there I’d like to acquire to fix and display, so I’ll keep at this as long as I can.”
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Harold Metternich, Farmall Acres Museum, 256-498 Broad St., Clarksville, Mich. 48815 (ph 616 868-6639).
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Amazing IH Museum Housed In On-Farm Building AG WORLD Retired electrician and lover of all things Farmall Harold Metternich is a Red Power collector extraordinaire “Some people think I’m a bit eccentric because of my museum but I really want to preserve things that otherwise might just rust away and disappear forever ” Metternich says He bought the old building that houses the museum in 2009 and in less than a decade has amassed hundreds of items Harold and his wife Ruth Ann travel far and wide to collect vintage Farmall and International Harvester equipment that’s often 60 to 80 years old They bring the rusted and old equipment back to the museum workshop where Harold dismantles cleans repairs and then re-assembles every piece Everything in his museum is in working order and practically new condition The Metternichs open the musuem to the public from May through October for anyone who wants a walk through agricultural history Their collection includes haying equipment such as mowers hay loaders tedders rakes and balers to old corn shellers grinder-mixers and feed mills There’s a large group of cream separators household appliances lawn mowers a 60-year-old International snowblower and old signage and posters A 2-row beet planter a potato digger a bean cultivator and old corn sheller are other rare items Restored tractors along one wall date back to the 40s 50s and 60s while another section is dedicated to fire control “I was a member of the local fire department for more than 50 years and I always wanted a truck for the museum ” Metternich says “When a 1961 C0190 came up for sale in New York I bought it and drove it home ” The 730-mile trip was uneventful because Metternich says the truck was barely broken in with only 15 000 miles on the odometer Metternich is always excited to show off the rare IH fanning mill a McCormick Deering Chattanooga plow and a one-horse grain drill that was never used Metternich says it was ordered in Pennsylvania and was still in the original box when he acquired it The Farmall Museum also has dairy items including milk coolers milkers cream separators and cow stanchions Two hay cars made in Ohio belonged to his father and his father-in-law Rounding out the rare items in his collection are old Farmall metal seats a neon IH clock an IH Titan gas turbine as well as vintage IH oil and gas memorabilia Even though he’s closing in on 80 years old Metternich says he intends on continuing his extraordinary hobby “There’s still things out there I’d like to acquire to fix and display so I’ll keep at this as long as I can ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Harold Metternich Farmall Acres Museum 256-498 Broad St Clarksville Mich 48815 ph 616 868-6639
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