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Harold Ottaway was one of the pioneering tractor and engine collectors in the hobby. He collected his first engine in 1949, a little horse and three-quarters Associated in a junkyard for five dollars. It grew from that into a large collection of tractors, engines, antiques, parts and a lot more. He had three buildings that were packed full of his treasures in Wichita, Kansas.

Back in 2001, I captured Harold telling a comical story about him purchasing a rare 30-60 Case gasoline tractor. The text below is a transcript of the story. You can also watch the video below. The audio is not the best, but its subtitled.

Harold:
Do you know the story on that?

I paid 250 dollars for that 30-60 Case Tractor in Nebraska up there in the sand hills.

Hay springs, Nebraska, the guys name was Charles Celek.

(Harold purchased the tractor in the early 1950s.)

Alright.

He had wanted 500 dollars for it.

Well it was too damn much.

 (people laughing)

So…

So later on he wrote me a letter, he said I sold the farm. I got to do something with the Case. I’ll take 250 dollars for it.

I went up and bought it.

(Charles, who Harold bought the tractor from, hid the magneto in the basement of his house so the kid’s couldn’t drive the tractor around. The tractor was sold new out of the Huston Case Dealership in Ragan, Nebraska. The same dealership also sold a 40-72 Case new that later went to Canada.)

Alright.

I had to hire, I hired a guy to haul it down to Witchita, (Kansas).

I put it in my barn.

Well John and Bill come down there and…

Drooling, they wanted that Case.

Oh its not for sale, not for sale.

But I got a couple letters from this guy up there in….Sid Jacobson.

No not for sale, Not for sale.

Sid always wanted that tractor.

So we were at Rollag one time and John said, Harold I talked it over with Bill.

We’ll give you $25,000 dollars for that Case and I said I’ll sell it to you.

I sold it to them for $25,000 dollars.

They took it up there and they probably had it 20 years.

 Now I don’t know how in the hell they arrived at this state, but 

Sid Jacobson came down there and paid them $150,000 dollars.

And thats no BS thats exactly right.  

(Talking)

I guess his family raised hell about him buying that Case and you can understand why.

A hell of a price.

Then he decided to have a sale. 

You know who went over and bought it. 

He gave $150,250 dollars, George did.

And I saw it up there last year.

Number 882.

Its probably restored now…

In 2001, when this story was captured, $150,000 dollars was a big price for an early prairie kerosene tractor. There’s only 3 of these 30-60 Case Tractors still known to exist. One sold in 2022 for the the world record price of $1,400,000 US dollars.

The tractor Harold mentions in the video is now owned by a collection in Carthage, North Carolina.

You can also read and watch a comical story from Harold about a deal that went sour. Only for paid members. Click HERE.

Antique Tractor Life