DYERSVILLE, Iowa — Do you have a kid obsessed with tractors? Do you find yourself craning to see tractors in the fields during the harvest? Does the sight of a tractor in action give you a warm feeling of nostalgia?
You might like to explore the National Farm Toy Museum in Dyersville, Iowa! The museum shows the history of agriculture through toys.
From hand-picking to the evolution of the tractor, the farming industry continuously changes.
“They're trying to create things that will help make it easier and more efficient and so that we can continue to feed the world,” museum manager Amanda Schwartz said.
So what makes little Dyersville, population 4,509, the "Farm Toy Capital of the World?" Three toy manufacturers have offices in town: Ertl, Dyersville Die Cast and SpecCast. Most toys are now produced overseas at the companies' ownership production plants.
The city was already hosting the National Farm Toy Show so the need for a permanent space was brought up.
The museum was founded in 1986, opening its doors to the public the following year. Members of the community joined together to form the Dyersville Industries Inc. volunteer board, which runs the museum to this day.
The National Farm Toy show is held twice a year, one on the first weekend of June and the other on the first weekend in November.
Collections are rotated in and out by the museum. It begins with early toys from the last century.
"We have some very early like 1900s, some of the old wood pressed lithograph farm toys, so those are quite rare," Schwartz said.
One eye-catching display features gold and chrome-plated farm toys.
A special collection named “Bernie’s Sawdust” features all wooden farm toys, hand-made by Iowa resident Bernie Kluesner. The toys have won multiple awards at the Iowa State Fair.
One rotating collection featured now is the history of the Ertl toy brand.
The vast showcases on the second floor are organized by the original equipment manufacturer, alphabetically from Allis-Chalmers to Minneapolis-Moline to Zetor.
Detailed dioramas show how that equipment was used on the farm.
Also on display is a large die-cast machine from the Ertl Toy Company. Hot metal would be poured into each half of the “die” to be pressed together in the machine to form a single toy!
The museum accepts donations to keep its displays fresh. Contributors need to fill out paperwork for the advisory board to review before items are accepted.
Manufacturers have donated huge amounts to the museum, along with those private donations.
“I would say, probably over 90% of our museum has been donated or given to the museum itself. We probably have a little less than 10% that's on loan,” Schwartz said.
Nostalgia plays a huge role in farm toy collecting. Many donors choose to give in memory of a family member who was a collector.
"Farm toy collecting is all about those connections, those people and their memories, and it's really an awesome hobby…it's kind of almost like family reunions when we get together,” Schwartz said.
The displays trigger many memories for visitors.
“They forget all the hard work. They remember the fun times and the connection that they made doing those hard chores and things like that. And 'that's the tractor I grew up, or that's how I learned to drive,' ” Schwartz said.
Generational families, FFA and 4-H groups, and farming fans alike are all drawn to visit the National Farm Toy Museum.
So come for the education, the fun, and the memories! And see, like their motto says, "Where Ag History is on a Roll!"