Every one of the miniature farm vehicles, from tractors to trucks to combines, has a link to Olds' agricultural heritage.
And they also tell the story of the man who has collected them for the past 20 years.
The newest exhibit at Olds' Mountain View Museum is entitled Model Tractor Memories and shows off the passion of the models' owner, Reid Thompson, a farmer who lives in Olds.
On display are 58 replicas of real tractors and other farm-related vehicles that Thompson has tracked down at auctions, specialty stores, model shows and from other collectors.
“They all have a story,” he said. “I was connected with most of them in one way or another.”
Many of the miniatures—ranging from 1/12th to 1/16th scale— are replicas of actual vehicles that Thompson has worked on while farming in Olds over the years.
One of the models that means the most to him is a replica of the 1947 John Deere G, which he said he grew up on when farming as a young man.
He added the G was the first tractor brought to Olds with built-in hydraulics.
The first model Thompson ever received was a John Deere Model A that he received for Christmas at the age of four or five in the late 1940s.
That one, however, is kept at home.
The oldest model of a tractor represented by the scale miniatures at the museum is a 1912 Case, the first successful tractor powered by gasoline.
Complementing the displays of Thompson's models are humorous sketches of farm mishaps, such as farmers on the verge of discovering a skunk in a pile of hay.
“Most of us have been there, done that,” he said.
And there's even a photograph of Thompson with his father on the farm from the early 1950s.
That generational link goes one step further since the museum's curator and administrative assistant, Michelle Jorgensen, is Thompson's daughter.
She said she values her father's collection on a personal level as well as a “way to honour our heritage and our culture” and thought the display would help people better understand Olds' agricultural roots.
“It's been a great opportunity for me to learn more about the agricultural history of the area,” Jorgensen said. “I grew up on the same farm that my father grew up on and it's important to pass on the heritage.
“Because of the mission of the Olds Historical Society and the Mountain View Museum to preserve and protect the heritage of Olds and district, these were an obvious fit.”
The exhibit runs until May 31 and its official opening, which will include a scotch tasting and silent auction, is on May 10 at 7 p.m.
The museum is open Tuesday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
