The WEST CENTRAL ANTIQUE POWER COLLECTORS Club was organized in November of 1995 by Vern Flaig, Willmar; Bill Sommerville, Raymond and Byron Boike, Willmar. At the first meeting, held at the Kandi Entertainment Center in Willmar, Vern was elected President; Bill, Vice-President and Byron, Secretary-Treasurer. Berge Johnson of Spicer, Alton Fiskness of New London, and Thomas Schuerer of Danube were elected to the Board of Directors
Interest in the new group was excellent and 40 plus showed up for the first meeting. This meeting provided an opportunity for those interested in old tractors, engines, and machinery etc. a chance to talk with others who share the same interests.
The first year was spent “getting organized”, attending shows and a great picnic at Jim Fostervolds farm north of Willmar in August of 1996. In the years since, we had displays at the Kandiyohi County Fairgrounds. Then in 2000 we moved our shows to the Lake Lillian South City Park. In 2004 we moved from Lake Lillian to the old wayside rest on State Highway 7 just east of Blomkest, MN. We put on two day shows every year through 2016. Our 20 th show was in June of 2016 and in October of 2016 we had an auction sale and by December 2016 we had vacated the site. The State of Minnesota wanted it back to sell it. We as a club did not have enough funds to buy it and the club members voted not to purchase it and have a big debt to pay off.
Presently, we are still a club and we have a few fundraisers that keep us going. Our club's annual Tractor Pull is during the Lake Lillian Fun Days in August. This represents our tractor pull we always had on the Sunday of our Show; and a Plowing Bee in August or 1st part of September.
Since 2016, we as a club have set up four scholarships of $250 each. In the spring of the school year, we give two scholarships per two different school districts. They go to seniors that are going onto college, a two year or four year, with an interest in the Agricultural related field of study.
We extend an invite to be a member of our club. The dues are $15 per year. There is a newsletter that comes to you 4 times a year. We have meetings on the third Tuesday of the Month. We try and have them in February, March, April, May, June, July and November as our Holiday Banquet and short meeting. Meeting Notices are sent out by postcard in advance as a reminder of the meeting.
Current Officers and Board of Directors are: Chuck Molitor, President; Georgiann Bemis, Vice- President; Virginia Molitor, Secretary; Norm Riediger, Treasurer; Jim Bemis, Laurel Schiro, and Randy Gilberts are Board of Directors.
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