A6
BUSINESS
Wallowa County Chieftain
Wednesday, August 17, 2022
Local man’s collection becomes passion
Erl McLaughlin
has 35 restored
antique tractors
IF YOU GO
Sunrise Iron is open any
day of the year for tours.
Owner Erl McLaughlin
asks that anyone inter-
ested in a tour call ahead
to set one up. He can
be reached at 541-263-
0755. Admission is free,
although donations are
welcome to help with
ongoing projects.
By ANN BLOOM
For the Wallowa
County Chieftain
ENTERPRISE — For
most people, having a col-
lection of something is a
hobby. For Erl McLaughlin
it’s a passion. McLaughlin
collects and restores antique
tractors.
“It’s gotta be a passion,”
he said.
McLaughlin has 35 trac-
tors in his newly expanded
warehouse on Sunrise Road.
He’s been collecting and
restoring tractors since 1983.
All the tractors are nonmo-
torized, and horse-drawn
with a few dating back to the
Civil War.
Each tractor has a story.
“There’s a million sto-
ries at Sunrise Iron,” he said.
“Most all my tractors run,
and I’ve painted them and
put decals on them with col-
ors and font so they look fi n-
ished. It’s dirty, hard, expen-
sive work to make them
respectable and put them
on display — (they) need
TLC.”
McLaughlin said he
got into restoring tractors
because the winters are long
and cold in Wallowa County.
He has 600 acres of crop-
land, all irrigated, but since
he doesn’t run cattle and
doesn’t spend time feed-
ing them in the winter, he
needed something to do in
the winters.
Sunrise Iron has also
expanded to include antique
sewing machines, washing
machines, an assortment of
Bill Bradshaw/Wallowa County Chieftain
Erl McLaughlin recently expanded his Sunrise Iron Museum by 72 feet so it’s now 40 feet by 300 feet west of Enterprise. Inside,
he has more than 100 years worth of tractors and other farm implements many of which he’s restored over the past 40 years
while not farming. He reopened the expanded museum Saturday, Aug. 6, 2022.
antique vacuum cleaners,
butter churns, lithographs
depicting turn of the century
domestic activities and agri-
cultural motifs. Besides a
way of broadening his hori-
zons, McLaughlin said the
additions to his collection
keep the women and girls
who come to see his collec-
tion from “not being totally
bored, just partially bored,”
he said with a smile.
McLaughlin held an open
house earlier this month fea-
turing a new addition that
adds 72 feet to his ware-
house. The addition enabled
him to show off tractors that
had been in storage and a
spiral staircase that pro-
vides a bird’s eye view of
everything.
“I’m indebted to my
good friend, Al, for letting
me store stuff in a building
east of Joseph, on a no cost
basis,” for the last 20 years,
he said.
The building is now 40
feet by 300 feet. It is the
third expansion McLaugh-
lin has added to the struc-
ture to accommodate his
“really cool stuff ,” he said,
and “when the time is right,”
there will probably be
another addition.
The open house was
“above average (in atten-
dance). Even with the price
of fuel. I met a lot of people,
down to earth people. Peo-
ple were pretty impressed,”
he said.
The tractors in McLaugh-
lin’s collection hail from
British Columbia, Troy,
Idaho, Baker City and
Ellensburg, Washington, and
other places throughout the
United States and Canada.
He said the group of collec-
tors is not large, but it can be
competitive. Collectors may
share information on where
to get parts for a tractor they
are restoring, but not where
to get a rare or unusual trac-
tor they don’t have in their
collection. That information
is not shared. He does appre-
ciate tips from people if they
know of an antique tractor
that he may be interested in.
“People need to help
me,” he said.
He has been contacted by
the producers of the show
“The Pickers.” He put them
off before, but says he may
encourage them to see his
collection if they contact him
again.
The rarest tractor in
McLaughlin’s collection is
a 1915 10-20 Three Wheel
Case B. It’s the only trac-
tor in his collection that he
doesn’t operate, due to its
& Skylight
Gallery
rarity, but it is fully restored
and is operational.
“It’s only two of any in
existence. The other is in
Harrisburg, Virginia. The
serial number (located on a
plate on the tractor) authenti-
cates it,” he said.
A lot of people may put
out the money required to
purchase an antique tractor,
but few want to put in the
required hours it takes for the
restoration, McLaughlin said.
“(The tractors) just set out
in the elements and the weeds
grow around it. (The people)
get it home and there it sets.
They get overwhelmed,” he
said, adding there are a lot
of hours required to make a
tractor presentable.
McLaughlin sees the edu-
cational value in his collec-
tion as a way to preserve a
piece of agricultural heri-
tage. He explained that not
that long ago 98% of the pop-
ulation was involved in agri-
culture to feed 2% of the
population. Now, he said, the
numbers have fl ip-fl opped.
“I just am trying to pro-
vide this stuff a good
home and extend its life,”
McLaughlin said. “It was
used to raise food to feed
(people) and their neighbors.
It’s important to me.”
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CLUES ACROSS
1. Encyclopedia contents,
casually
5. What comforters cover
9. Bracelet bangle
14. Hen’s house
15. Warhol who said,
“Making money is art”
16. Camel’s rest stop
17. Polish, as prose
18. Name within “Constantine”
19. Camera giant
20. Obstetrician’s quote for
assisting in childbirth?
23. ___ slicker
24. Like some museum tours
28. Not outdoors
31. Pitcher’s gift
32. Outback bird
33. Orthodontist’s quote for
making an appliance?
36. Brief moment
37. Pizzeria hot spot
38. Small battery size
39. Employee benefit
40. Toddler’s break
41. Bookbinder’s quote for
attaching the exterior?
45. Wedding words
46. Blvd. relative
47. Went the distance
48. Appetizer whose name
is French for “sofa”
50. Alphabetize, e.g.
51. Electrician’s quote for
getting electricity flowing?
57. Pesto herb
60. Provo’s place
61. Affirm
62. Lime or rust
63. Make cookies
64. Horse hair
65. Bread ingredient
66. It goes down in the winter
67. Calligrapher’s supplies
Joseph United
Methodist Church
Grace Lutheran
Church
3rd & Lake St. • Joseph
409 West Main - Enterprise
10 AM Worship
Online AND In Person
SUNDAY
SUNDAY
WORSHIP
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For More Info
541-432-3102
JosephUMC.ORG
at 9am
at 9am
Pastor
Beth Estock
Pastor Cherie
Dearth
Pastor John B. King Jr
phone (message): 541-426-4633
web: gracelutheranenterprise.com
Enterprise
Christian Church
St.
St. Patrick’s
Patrick’s
Episcopal
Church
Episcopal Church
85035 Joseph Hwy • (541) 426-3449
We have ‘In-person worship” @ 9:00 am
(Guidelines observed)
Sunday School at 10:30
Parking Lot Radio/Facebook @ 9:00
100 NE 3rd St, Enterprise
NE 3rd & Main St
541-426-3439
Worship Service
Sunday 9:30am
David Bruce
Pastor, Enterprise Christian Church
Lostine
Presbyterian Church
Summit Church
Discussion Group 9:30 AM
Worship Service 11:00 AM
at the Cloverleaf Hall in Enterprise
Childrens program during service
Blog: dancingforth.blogspot.com
CLUES DOWN
1. Chilled
2. Connection point
3. Light weapon in fencing
4. Frame job figure?
5. Decimal system
6. Contest submission
7. WWII turning point
8. Coordinate, as a Mac and iPhone
9. Devour
10. Caribbean country where
Vodou is a recognized religion
11. Pose a question
12. Kia model
13. AOL alternative
21. “Veni, ___, vici”
22. Fairy-tale fiend
25. Gobi or Sahara
26. Come into sight
27. Dropped out of sight, say
28. Having a twist
29. Sparks’ setting
30. Squish with a shoe
31. Miles away
34. Roof overhang
35. Singer Carly ___ Jepsen
39. Deli meat on rye
41. Juliet’s surname
42. At an end
43. Attired
44. Heavenly strings
49. Etching solutions
50. It goes down the drain
52. Massages
53. List shortener: Abbr.
54. Tennis legend Lendl
55. Hit on the head
56. Woolly mothers
57. “Man!”
58. Lumberjack’s chopper: Var.
59. “Chandelier” singer
107 E. Main • Enterprise • 541-426-3351
www.bookloftoregon.com
Sundays at 10 am
Pastor: David Pendleton
541.398.0597
Hwy 82, Lostine
www.summitchurchoregon.org
Stephen Kliewer, Minister
Cloverleaf Hall • 668 NW 1st St. • Enterprise, OR 97828
Wallowa
Assembly
of God
702 West Hwy 82
Wallowa, Oregon
541-886-8445
Sunday School • 9:am
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Church
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Church Office: 541-263-0505
Family Prayer - 9:30 AM
Worship - 10:00 AM
723 College Street, Lostine
Enterprise Community
Congregational Church
Join us at the
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305 Wagner (near the Cemetery)
P.O. Box N. Enterprise, OR 97828
Church 541-426-3751
School 541-426-8339
Pastor David Ballard 503-810-9886
Sunday Worship 11:00 am
Bible Study:
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Worship Hour
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10:30 a.m. - Noon
301 NE First St. • Enterprise, OR
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