If you have ever made it to Ruskin, Nebraska in your travels you had to have met Duane (Tub) Drohman. Tub was one of the most nicest guys you will have ever met in the Massey collecting and has left an everlasting memory on the hobby. When you rolled into the little town of Ruskin you couldn't miss the Massey-Harris building located just across the road from the Broken Spoke bar/cafe, it was a real treat for the true Massey collector to see such a sight. Tub was an old school hard working man with a real soft spot for anything Massey-Harris. I am glad I had the opportunity to have met him.  He will be forever in my great Massey memories.
Joe

I typically get an email alerting me to new posts on the MCA Discussion forum.  Tonight, after another long day of corn harvest, I got the notification of Joe Poncelet's post above.  This opened up this whole stream for me, which I had not seen before.  Very interesting, and I wish I had seen them back in August when the stream started.  So many good Massey folks I have met over the years. 

My first big Massey show was Georgetown, Ohio in 1993.  I took "Old Sam", my Grandpa's M-H 44 which I had recently restored.  That was the first time I met Don Snyder.  We were seated together at the banquet.  We immediately became good friends for life.  That was the show that pointed me in the direction of focusing on Massey tractors and equipement rather than the green and yellow stuff I had started on. 

I am attaching a photo of Don on his M-H 101 in a parade.  I used this photo on the Massey Quilts that Marlene out together for Massey Days 2016 at my place.

My job at Cummins took me across the pond several times to the UK and other places.  I was fortunate to be able to visit Malcom Robinson and John Farnworth multiple times while on company travels to the UK.  I hope to get back over there again once I actually get truly "retired".  All of the pictures I have from those visits are actualy printed photos.  I need to scan some of those some day so that I can share. 

Anyway, it was good to see John and Malcolm at the 175th Expo in Milton for the first time in what seemed like a long time.  Also, good to see Geer van de Ven from the Netherlands. 

I have many treasured memories from my times with all my Massey family of friends.  I know that it is unrealistic to think I could see the 200th anniversay celebrations.  But, wouldn't that be cool?

Signing off with the wise words, and our tag line coined by our dearly departed friend Don Snyder:
"Old Masseys collect the nicest People."

Cheers,

JB

Thank you Joe and John for adding to the memories.

Fully agree with you Joe "the 175th year is not yet over" and great to continue adding to this thread with people we have met over the years.

I first met Duane 'Tub' Drohman at the Jim Decker auction in Kansas about 1994 plus many other events over the years, he always said "you have never been to Ruskin" and now I regret never getting to see his collection which he put together over the years, but thanks to the MCA website we have seen most of it from you guys who were there.

Another name I have just recalled from the early days, who again I first met at the Decker auction was the late Lawrence Myers and remember hearing all about his restoration of the No 2 tractor around that time.

Keep the photo's rolling in Joe, I am sure you have many more in your archives.



 

Malcolm,
Sorry you missed the opportunity to see Tub Drohman's Massey building in person. It was a sight to see, it was like taking a peek into the 1950;s  it was a sight to see....

Here are a couple pictures of where it all began. I've been arround tractor shows my whole life but this is the very first tractor show I took my wife Jo to. I remember her being quite impressed seeing all these Masseys and her asking the question how come all these eldery people get all excited about all this old stuff. Jo grew up with Allis Chalmers and didn't see any reason for getting excited about them as that brought back memories of hard work and poor times.

Here is a picture of me standing by the Wallis Cub. For the first time in my life of ever seeing a Wallis Cub and at that time not knowing what I was even looking at. Not in a million years would I ever have even dreamed I would some day be the owner of this tractor.....

This show was also the very first time I met the legendary Malcolm Robinson. I remember him sounding so funny the way he talked and at the time thinking he was from so far away. It was uncomprehendable. Not in a million years would have i ever thought I would some day jump a plane and go visit him much less more than once. I am glad I dragged my wife with me to that show as she is now our President of the Club.
Joe

Another man that I had the pleasure to meet and become good friends with was Rich Onesti. Rich was truely one of the most positive people you could ever come across in the tractor collecting hobby.  I will always remember him as one of the cleanest and well dressed, classy and well spoken man I have ever met. Rich always did it right and didn't believe in cutting corners. He was also a true Wisconsin man and liked his beer and brats and just really loved life. I will remember him forever and hope some of his wisdom and ways will have rubbed off on me.
Joe

Joe we have Dennis Volling riding another Pedal at the National Show at Baraboo in 2012 we have find  it classic him Randy

The year is not over yet there is still time to post your memories of people that influnced you in the last 25 years. 
Here is a man who I spent many hours with, Jim Roth. Jim was a great friend, a very hard worker and a just all arround get-er-done kind of guy. He would jump in and help anyone expecially when it come to Massey tractors. Jim has restored several tractors for me and many others over the last 25 years. We lost Jim just about two years ago now and he is missed immensely. Jim was a man who never wanted his picture taken so to have a picture of him it is quite rare. He always wanted to be the man in the backround and didn't like the limelite. Here are just a couple pictures I have of him. One with Ervin Chew, Jim, myself, Larry Weber and Sonny Pace. One with his son Brandon grilling burgers at our Massey Days show. One with Rich Onesti and I believe Roger Otermat dynoing his 555 at a show in Indiana.

Hi Malcolm and All!

Thanks for sharing the pics!  Your memory is impeccable!  We did miss seeing everyone in Milton but we could not pass up the opportunity to help ACGO with their 175^th Anniversary display at the Farm Progress Show.  That will be for another thread!  We definitely regret missing everyone at the show.
 
We do need to make our way back over one more time!  Someone still wants to go to the Xmas Show! 

As for the crawler, that was the day I DID fall in love with the MF 134 crawler.  I even tried to buy one to put in the container with the Fergies but it was not in the best of shape!  I still want one!  It was amazing!  Maybe I need to work on John!  It would be a great piece to display and play with!
 
And yes, John was educating me on the virtues of “Jersey Cream” after I failed miserably in my delivery of “quality” cream for strawberries at the Rushville Show!! It must have made a lasting impression on others besides myself!!
 
Thanks for the memories!!
 
Gary
 

Hi Joe and All!
 
That was a very good description of our very good friend Tub Drohman of Ruskin, Nebraska.  Not very many “outsiders” realized that every empty barn, garage or building in Ruskin was used by Tub to store his collection.  He had a building across the street that housed his triple series tractors and shelves of parts.  It was not noticeable only because everyone was looking the his “Dealership” building.
 
The first time I ever met Tub was at Hughesville, PA in 2002. The late Mike Jones and I had traveled to the show together.  We had unloaded his MH 30 and my original MH 444 Standard and were leaving for the day.  As we approached the truck we could hear some one yelling “stop, stop”  We looked around and a small statured senior gentleman was running across the parking area headed in our direction! Little did we know he was yelling at me!!
 
Once he caught his breath he shared that he REALLY liked my MH 444 and wanted to buy it!  At first I was taken aback about his enthusiasm of my tractor but why me??  Did he greet everyone this way?  Little did I know that Tub had probably one of the largest collections of the MH triple series tractor around.  He reacted to any Triple in the same way.  He was particularly excited in the fact it was a very nice original 444.  I took it  as a sincere compliment that someone like Tub would recognize the importance of keeping them original.  That was one of my first lessons learn in the tractor collecting world.
 
That simple but memorable day was the beginning of a very long and sincere relationship with not only me but also my wife, Ony.  Tub’s stature, attitude, warm and caring heart were the very same attributes of her own father.  We made several trips to beautiful Ruskin, NE, enjoyed our meals at the Broken Spoke but cherished our times with Tub.
 
At his auction I bought the very first tractor sold that day – MH 44 K.  Purposefully, I did not take the trailer!  So Ony and I both went back to pick up the tractor but more importantly, we knew it would be the last time we would see him.  When we were ready to load the tractor, it surprisingly started right up (It hardly ran at the auction) and it had newer rear tires (only because the old ones did not hold air at the auction)!!  That was Tub and our friendship.  After we left I told Ony the tires and the engine work was a gift to her from Tub.
 
Love you Tub - RIP
 
Gary
 

If you have been to a show and come across a Wallis or MH GP or many other Masseys and wondered how the tin work can look so good, one name comes to mind, Ervin Chew. Ervin is the "Master" when it comes to making hoods, fenders, grills, air stacks, or just about anything you can imagine. When it leaves Ervin's shop it is better than NOS. I think Ervin needs to be recognized in this thread as he has contributed more than you can ever imagine in the last 25 years to the Massey collecting hobby. Very few pay more attention to detail than this man. I don't think people realize just how much Ervin has contributed to all the great looking tractors out there. My hat is off to him and would like to thank him for all his hard work.

In the early years I was lucky enough to buy one of his hand made wooden pens. Not many people know he was also a "Master" with many different kinds of wood, some I've never even heard of before.
Ervin loves his Masseys but what not many know is he also has a soft spot for Minneapolis Moline. One of his favorite tractors is his Universal Moline. 
Joe