By Joel van der Veen

DAVIDSON — Green is the colour when it comes to Tom Waterhouse’s collection, with yellow finishing in a close second.

Shelves filled with tractors, combines and other miniature equipment — most of it bearing the familiar colours of the John Deere company — line the walls of a downstairs room at his home in Davidson.

He has lost count of the total number of items — “I don’t know, period” — but acknowledges that it “takes up a fair bit of space.”

The collection includes vintage toys as well as models made by Waterhouse himself, crafted in his home workshop.

“It’s something to do, eh,” he said. “On top of that, we’ve made friends from here to Winnipeg.”

Waterhouse was among the exhibitors at the Farm Toy and Collectable Show in Saskatoon, held the weekend of Jan. 13 to 15 at the German Cultural Centre.

The show featured 50 tables with thousands of items. Organizers said it draws around 900 visitors annually.

Tom brought home a couple of awards from this year’s show, both for his own handiwork.

A Cockshutt hay loader, decorated in red and yellow, won the “Scratch Built” trophy, awarded to an entry built from raw materials, rather than a kit or pre-assembled parts.

“The only thing bought on there is the two big wheels,” Tom said, looking at the homemade model.

He also won the “Custom Built” trophy for a pull-type combine he built — a John Deere 6601, to be precise.

For the full story, please see the Jan. 30 edition of The Davidson Leader or call 306-567-2047 to subscribe today.