Whimsical and Homespun Art Creations with a Little Rural Living Thrown In





Saturday, May 21, 2011

Thrifty Find ~ Vintage Minneapolis Moline Tractor Items

I need to catch up on my traveling posts!  Well... my hubby had me all excited to go to this large flea market in Baraboo, WI earlier this month.  He neglected to inform me that it was mainly (by mainly I mean 99.9%)  men stuff.  Did this stop me from shopping??  NO WAY!  I just switched over to looking for items for my son.  Hubby walked right by an older gentleman's booth that had this wonderful Minneapolis Moline tractor umbrella.  It was taken off of a 1938 tractor and was in nice shape for its age.  Now... I love my son, but some of these umbrellas can go ridiculously high in price.  (Rediculous in this case can be 200 bucks or more!)  I figured the picture would be the only way of my son ever seeing one.  My poor hubby didn't even want to ask about the price.  It wasn't marked... translation... It must be really high!  After scoping out a few more items, the dreaded question was asked.  The response... 85 dollars. 

Do you suppose that it was my weary stance that conveyed the miles of walking through aisles of rusty men's junk, or perhaps the troubled look on my face realizing that my son was going to get a big treasure and I was going to get zip, that made this kind man have pity on me...  I will never know, but that was nothing compared to what was about to happen.  As I stood there contemplating whether I loved my son enough for an 85 dollar purchase (his birthday isn't until October),  the gentlemen keenly sensed that my son could lose out in this scenario and started to sweeten the deal.



He threw in this PTO cover that my hubby had been looking at for the Minni U.  (The cover that my son was outbid on eBay for at $33.00 without shipping added.)  At this point, it was probably a good thing that my hubby was positioned behind this guy.  Because there I stood,  for some unearthly reason that even I cannot explain, still thinking whether my son really needed that umbrella.  It probably took all my hubby could stand not to intervene.  Imagine his disbelief when all I said was, "I just don't know."   I think at this point even the gentleman wasn't sure what to think.  So he went in for the kill...75 dollars for both.  My hubby's eyes were huge at this point which snapped me out of the fog.  We took them both.  



As we began to walk away, the gentleman handed me this tool bag that I had been looking down at during my contemplation.  He told me to take it as part of the deal.  Lord bless him for being such a sweet man, even after dealing with me!


My hubby went back later and bought a Minni wrench from the same man.  My son was beyond thrilled with his items.  And no, I did not get one thing for myself out of this trip, but it was worth it to see the surprise on my son's face.   And to make the week even better... hubby, son, and our local small engine mechanic got the U to breath life.  Yep, they did!  Now the mad dash for new front tires...  :)

UPDATE:  My son got back a few hours ago and has been working out back with my hubby.  As I was finishing up with my post, they yelled at me to bring out my camera.  They are mounting the new tires as I type.  Here is the photo of their progress.


I have a feeling the Minni U will be running around town real soon! ;)

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