Pedal Pulling
MARION TWP, Beaver County — Who would think a child's tractor could travel so far?
With help from Wayne Cooper, the antique pedal toys have been showcased in youth tractor pulls as far away as Alaska.
The pedal tractors most recently took Cooper to Dyersville, Iowa, where he was inducted into the National Farm Toy Hall of Fame.
The ceremony was hosted as part of the National Farm Toy Show, hosted by the National Farm Toy Museum and Toy Farmer magazine.
According to museum manager Amanda Schwartz, Cooper was chosen partly for his longtime efforts to collect and restore the toys. His most notable accomplishments, however, include introducing the tractors to youths throughout the region.
“He was very selfless in the fact that he started all of these pedal pulls for kids to get them interested in farm toys and collecting,” Schwartz said, noting he also repaired and restored more than 500 tractors.
“He helped write articles and educate people,” she added. “He was published in both Toy Tractor Times magazine and also in the Toy Farmer magazine along with many other publications that I'm not as familiar with.”
Locally, the 76-year-old Billco Manufacturing retiree has made many appearances at the Portersville steam shows and the Butler Fair, where he began hosting the pedal pulls in the early 1980s.
Although pedal tractors were first made of sand-cast aluminum around 1950, Cooper's interest began in the 1960s, when he purchased two as Christmas presents for his sons. Setting aside the toys when his sons outgrew them, Cooper happened upon the tractors some 20 years later, deciding they would be a fun thing to restore.
Cooper said at that time the toys were often discarded with no real value as collectibles. After amassing a half dozen, he got the idea to offer child-sized tractor pulls as part of larger shows and events.
“Wayne was kind of a pioneer,” Schwartz said, explaining how Cooper designed drag and transfer sleds for the pedal pulls along with various replica attachments.
Raised on a farm himself, Cooper said he pursued the hobby partly to share his heritage with sons and grandsons.
His 25-year-old grandson Brandon, also of Marion Township, was among a group of family members who attended the induction ceremony last week.
“I've learned a lot from him about pedal tractors,” said Brandon, who has four himself.
Confined to a wheelchair because he suffers from Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Brandon has leaned toward collecting miniature model tractors, estimating he has about 500.
His senior project at Riverside High School involved hosting a farm toy show, then donating the proceeds to benefit research for the disease.“My dad restores a lot of real tractors,” Brandon noted of the pastime's genealogy.According to Cooper, pedal pull attendance also is being passed on in families.“Kids that pulled early on, they've grown up,” he said. “They bring their kids. We've turned another generation.“What's good about this hobby is you can go from 5 years old to forever,” he added.Although Cooper once had about 70 pedal tractors, he sold most about 10 years ago, limiting his collection to those used in shows, which he continued attending for five more years.With help from family members, Cooper estimates attending eight to 10 shows a year for 25 years before handing over the reins to fellow enthusiast Vernon Stoops of Harmony.The 29th member of the Farm Toy Hall of Fame, Cooper was nominated by his son Ben of Hyndman, Pa., and a friend, Jay Graham of Ohio.Schwartz said at least 30 nominees were named through the museum's website. More were submitted directly to the committee members, who strive to recognize those who have contributed to the farm toy collecting hobby in a positive manner.“It's been a good hobby for him,” his wife Shirley added. “He's met a lot of people.”“This came as such a surprise,” Cooper said of the nomination and induction. “It's not like the Olympics. It's not something you're gunning for.”“In my mind, I thought he should be inducted someday,” Brandon said.“In a way I pedaled my way to the hall of fame,” Cooper said.
