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Mogren family donates tractors to museum...

Ival Mogren loved to restore old tractors and now his widow Ruth hopes the Pioneer Village in Kenmare continues to showcase his work.

2/05/19 (Tue)

North Dakota farming history... This 1941 D3 Co-op is a rare tractor and it is fullyrestored. It is one of only 200 built in Shelbyville, Ind.,during World War II and is valued at $10,000.

By Marvin Baker

Ival Mogren loved to restore old tractors and now his widow Ruth hopes the Pioneer Village in Kenmare continues to showcase his work.

That won’t be an issue, according to Lake County Historical Society President Bryan Quigley now that Ruth Mogren has donated four of Ival’s tractors to Pioneer Village, which is operated by the Lake County Historical Society.

The tractors include a 1948 Allis Chalmers with narrow front valued at $2,900; a 1947 Gambles Farm Crest 30 valued at $5,000; a 1941 General GG valued at $6,000 and a 1941 D3 Coop, that is only one of 200 built in Shelbyville, Ind., is considered very rare and is valued at $10,000.

Minot tractor expert Gene Eggen, who has a Rumley on loan at the village, researched the tractor models and came up with values from Machinery Pete’s Classic Farm Prices. Eggen based the prices on auction sales in the past four years, as well as current Internet information.

“Gene is a tractor enthusiast,” Quigley said. “This is the closest it will get to a professional appraisal.”

All four tractors had been on loan from the Mogren family and now that they’ve been donated, Quigley expects more can be done with them.

“When the family had them here we didn’t dare touch them,” Quigley said. “Now we love it that we know they are on permanent display at the village.”

That means that all four of the tractors can be started periodically, driven in parades and demonstrations and have regular maintenance done for upkeep.

The hope is to have all of them running for Pioneer Day in mid July.

According to Quigley, the historical society was always open to the possibility of having the tractors donated. However, it was ultimately up to the Mogren family.

They made that decision and turned the tractors over permanently to the historical society.

“Ival was a perfectionist,” Quigley said. “He liked to refurbish these machines, but he always sought perfection.”

Mogren, who died in 2009, purchased old tractors and fixed them up, totally restoring many of them as close to their original state as possible.

He had several more, according to Ruth, but the four donated were in the best shape. She said the others aren’t as unique as the four given to the historical society.

“We decided it (Pioneer Village) would be a good place for them instead of leaving them in the elements,” she said. “Ival was here all his life so people who knew him will get to see his work.”

She said the tractors have been on loan at Pioneer Village four years and the family decided in December to donate them in full to the museum.

“We are very thankful to Ruth and her family,” Quigley said. “We now know they’re on permanent display.” ... Read EVERY WORD on EVERY PAGE of The Kenmare News by subscribing--online or in print!