Van Roekel Plow Day

Sanborn, Iowa —When the weatherman gave his forecast for Saturday, October 22, 2011 he could just as well as said, “It will be a perfect day for farmers to get their plowing done.”

Sunshine, a slight breeze, warm temperatures and dry conditions were the perfect fit for the twelve year tradition of a plowing day at the Wayne and Marsha Van Roekel farm near Sanborn, Iowa. What commenced as a couple of not so old men lamenting that they didn't get to drive their really old tractors as often as they would like to has become an annual event.

The conversation could very well have ended there and no one would have been the wiser. Instead Wayne Van Roekel of Sanborn took the initiative to invite a few likeminded friends to spend an afternoon together.

“That is pretty much how it started,” said Marsha Van Roekel. “Wayne and his friends wanting to play with their toys and it just grew. We don’t advertise, the invite just gets spread word of mouth and people come.”

Marsha makes sure there is plenty of hot coffee and prepares a large roaster of tavern and others bring dishes to complement that for the noon meal. Tavern is what the locals call Maid-Rites, sloppy joes type of hot sandwich.

Wayne Van Roekel had begun collecting one to four bottom plows about that time, so it seemed natural to host a plowing bee. Most of the plows are from the 1930’s, said Van Roekel who has at least a dozen of them.

“About half those plows will be put into action today,” said Van Roekel. “By day’s end there will be fifty acres plowed. We try to make the fifty acres last all day, as some plowing enthusiasts can’t come until later in the day; others were rarin’ to go first thing this morning.”

Van Roekel has done his share of plowing in earlier years when it was a common practice. “It was a form of weed control, used to get rid of crop residue and to prepare a better seed bed,” said Van Roekel. "I have the John Deere B Tractor that my dad started farming with in 1948. I learned to plow with a three bottom plow. It will get used today."

Throughout the day the tractors and plows will come and go as they please. Many come to plow, others just to reflect of their lives as farmers before the days of less tillage.

“And because I like old tractors,” said John Bates of Ocheyedan who didn’t plow that Saturday, October 22.Bates said he had done plenty in his day. As did his wife Elnora. “The dryness of this fall will make for good plowing today.In the 1930’s I plowed with horses and a sulky plow. It would dismount you if you hit a rock. Three horses pulled the plow.”

When questioned what to watch for when plowing, his wife Elnora was quick to answer, “Make sure the corn stalks go through the plow. It can plug up fast.”

Lloyd Baker of Ashton, would attest to that. Baker brought three tractors a 1947 G JD, 1948 JD A, and a 1947 H Farmall and plows to go with the tractors for others to use. The day before he came out to do some marking in the field. Midway he ran into some trouble.

“It started plugging, first I thought that there just must have been some extra corn stalks there; but it happened again, and again,” said Baker. “When I lifted the plow, there was a chain causing all the trouble. It’s no wonder the plow would not to work right.”

Turns out the log chain he found was the one that Gary Coulander of Sheldon had lost two years ago plowing at the Van Roekel Plowing Day. That story was retold many times that day, especially at dinner.

At noon surrounded by tractors and plows, the men sat around tables eating dinner outdoors, just reminiscing of farming days gone. Nostalgia, that what brings us here they all agreed, it is just a play day for us. Reliving the good ole days having fun while bringing back good memories.

They talked about plows that 'wouldn't scour for sour apples' and remember their days of farming with their fathers and grandfathers. It reunites them with the life producing soil as it is worked one more time before winter sets in. Fall plowing was one of the more pleasurable jobs on the farm.

In that same spirit of fathers teaching their sons and creating new memories, the Van Roekel Plowing Day gave Don Uitenbogaard of Sanborn the privilege of teaching his three grandsons Jessie, 15, Jacob 13 and Micah 11 to plow. Along with his son Mark they brought an 8N Ford with a Ferguson Plow and a M Farmall with an IH Plow to the Van Roekel Plow Day.

Grandpa Don spent a portion of the morning riding with his grandsons on the tractors going over the finer points of plowing. Micah who had justdone a wee bit of plowing at last year’s plowing bee said it was important to keep the right wheel in the furrow.

From the enthusiasm seven year old granddaughter Freedom displayed when riding with her dad Mark, Grandpa Don will more than likely be teaching another Uitenbogaard to plow in a few years.

The plowmen or plowboys as that is what they are for the day come from all over the area. Many will bring their tractors and or plows. The Van Roekels said that throughout the day they do get quite an assortment here.

Don Engeltjes from Orange City brought his 1948 John Deere Series D and a John Deere Model 44 two bottom plow. This tractor he found in Canada.

“It took me about six years to overhaul doing the work myself,” said Engeltjes. “The D tractor series interested me because of its slow RPM’s and it is a heavy, heavy older tractor weighing about 5,000 pounds.

Just down the road near Archer, Marlyn Hofman came with his 1941 Farmall. “I started farming with this tractor in 1972. About two years ago I restored it. The JD 555 three 16 bottom plow is one I actually bought from Wayne here.”

Bob Vander Pol of Sibley who says he enjoys this old stuff manages to get to several parades in the area throughout the year. He had a good day plowing with the 1946 Massey Harris Model 20 tractor that his dad bought new. He was pulling a Minneapolis two 14 bottom plow that he borrowed from a friend.

The oldest plow there was probably the one that Jake Rens of Orange City. Rens had a 1918 Waterloo plow. “It is a very early plow, a number five,” he said. He was anxious to see how it would perform as he had just finished restoring it. The plow did well.