IHC Chapter 7 Second Quarter Meeting: April 11, 2026. Refer to the Calendar and Newsletter for more

As I write this, we are under a thunderstorm warning and were under a tornado watch earlier today. Luckily, we only have a few limbs down. We have had over 8 inches of rain in the last 10 days here in the Edwardsport area. But we were extremely dry before that, so I guess we should be glad we are getting caught up. It was almost 70 today but the low tonight is 23 with only a high of 46 tomorrow, then a low of 16 Tuesday night. Seems old man winter doesn’t want to give up but this old man is more than ready to return to the 60s and some bright sunshine. 

Chapter 7 had a great first quarter meeting on February 8 at the MCL cafeteria on the south side of Indianapolis. We had a great turnout with many members, spouses and guests present and as always, we enjoyed a great MCL buffet selection. The minutes are enclosed in this newsletter, so you can read about the business part of our meeting and the two scholarships your Chapter awarded. I’m always impressed with the scholarship winners, and I applaud those in our Chapter 7 that started this project many years ago. There is no better place to invest time and treasure than in our youth. 

I want to make sure that if there is any way possible, I encourage you to attend our next meeting on SATURDAY April 11th at 2 P.M. to tour Jack Cook’s tractor, truck and car collection. Jack’s home, farm headquarters and multiple tractor sheds are located at: 11155 N Hall Rd. Clayton, Indiana. Your GPS should take you right to his place. I turned south on Interstate I-70 towards Monrovia until I got to Indiana State Road 42 and turned west. Go about 3+ miles and you will see Hall Road on the north and a small sign that says “Cook Road” it is a dead-end county blacktop road and Jack’s house is at the end of the lane with an old JD D there, so you will know you are in the right place. 

I can’t brag about this collection enough; I truly think it is one of the best in the Midwest. What is so special, Jack has restored and painted almost everything he has collected. You will tour multiple barns and see tractors from every brand and model produced. He has sold 40 of his tractors recently, but that only made a small dent in his collection. He asked if we had any buyers in our group, as he said almost everything is for sale at the right price. He is a true gentleman, and I know you will enjoy visiting with him and his wife. 

Since everything is inside, we will have the meeting rain or shine. To allow everyone time to get there at 2 P.M. we decided to skip our normal meal, but we will have drinks available for everyone. I’ve been to a lot of museums and toured a lot of collections, but I can assure you this is one you will want to see.  

Joyce and I are headed to the IH National Winter Convention in Clemmons, North Carolina this week. I’ll have a full report in our next newsletter. 

Don Villwock 

Chapter 7 President