September in Northeast Iowa has been colder than normal. It almost feels like fall here. I was asked recently how my apple tree was doing and whether I was going to get any apples this year. I’m happy to announce the tree is alive and well, and I was able to get nine apples this year. That’s right, nine. Between windstorms and critters, I managed to save a few. It sure seems like it would …

Greetings from Dyersville! It’s August in Northeast Iowa. Time for sweet corn and baseball games. In case you haven’t heard the big announcement already, the Chicago White Sox and the New York Yankees will be playing a major league game in Dyersville, Iowa in August of 2020 out at the Field of Dreams. I can’t wait to see if they can pull this off. Work is starting soon on a stadium that c …

Greetings from Dyersville! I can’t believe it is already July. Where is the summer going.. I had a good time talking to some of you at the Summer Farm Toy Show. We were able to show you some new items, including all the “Farm Show” units for the various OEMs. (I’ll talk more about these below.) One of my goals is to get to all 99 counties in Iowa. I was also able to take a quick vacati …

Greetings from Oak Brook! Bill Walters was kind enough to hand over his #26 blog edition to me. My name is Pete Henseler and I am President of TOMY. I’ve been involved with the Ertl brand for over 22 years. Over these many years, I have become quite a fan of the hobby and of you, the Farm Toy collectors. At the heart of it all is a wonderful and vibrant community of passionate people and …