While the weather might not have been what they were hoping for, the Canadian Tractor Museum pulled through with its season opener on Monday, May 19.
The opening featured over 100 restored vintage tractors that are on display in the main gallery, a BBQ and a preview of a newly donated generator from the 1920s from two people in the Athabasca area.
Barb Kostiw, the Executive Director at the Canadian Tractor Museum, talked about the success of the day “It was wonderful to be out there and listen to the putt putts of the engines going … it was a good day for people to see how they hooked up to the belt to different implements and how they were used.”
Over 160 volunteers and community members attended the opening event with much of it taking place inside the facility. The kids enjoyed the play area in the front while some braved the weather to check out the activities located in the back.
Despite her time at the Canadian Tractor Museum, Kostiw is still surprised by how many people attend the events that have never been here before and even more surprised when they find out just how vast their collection really is, “We like to call it the only one in Canada that has this collection, this size, restored to this calibre. And even the gentleman that does our appraisals and stuff for us is always impressed with the quality of artifacts and stuff we have in our museum.”
The museum has been an establishment in Westlock since 1999 with the strong need to tell the story of agriculture history in Alberta, “There's a great story about egg history here and and we're doing our best to celebrate it and to tell those stories. And so, that's where we're going now.”
It all started with the Westlock Vintage Tractor and Machinery Club just over 35 years ago. Members of this club had a special interest in restoring old tractors and machinery but had nowhere to keep it. At the time, selling them felt like the best course of action until they found that they were just getting sold back to the United States, taking their history in Alberta with them.
A group of 13 people led by Hart Nessler became the first board of directors for the museum which allowed many to keep their restored machinery in one local place for future generations to see. The club is still running with their annual vintage tractor show happening on June seventh and eighth at the Westlock Agriculture grounds.
