Emery and Helen Schulze were the driving force in making the South Central Regional Antique Farm Equipment Show held at the Washington County Fairgrounds in Brenham, Texas in mid July, 2005 a huge success. The Sharecropper\’s Antique Farm Equipment Club, EDGE&TA Branch #96, hosted the show. This was the club\’s first major show and the Schulze\’s assumed the leadership responsibility. They coordinated site rental, advertising, ad sales, insurance, vendors, exhibitor registration, ticket sales, demonstrations, tractor pull, RV site rentals, site layout, materials, trophies, worker\’s schedules, and show handouts when the Club President was involved with graduation work at Texas A&M University.
Branch #96 has hosted the annual rural heritage festival, the Cotton Gin Festival, in Burton, Texas for many years. Included are a working cotton gin, a rural heritage parade, and an antique tractor pull. The Schulze\’s have been registering exhibitors and tractor pull entries there for many years and have also worked at the tractor pull.
Emery and Helen have been helpmates since they were married in 1958. They grew up together in the same area north of Brenham, Texas and now reside on the farm where Emery has lived since he was 4 years old. Emery has been in farming since he was 10 years of age when his father died and he and an older brother became the providers.
They are members of the Sharecropper\’s Antique Farm Equipment Club, EDGE&TA Branch #96, where Helen is serving her 4th year as Treasurer with Emery assisting with the membership and insurance tasks. They are also members of the Central Texas Old Iron Collectors Club, EDGE&TA Branch #156.
Emery grew up with Farmall tractors and his collection reflects his love for the red. Farmalls were used during the early years when he was farming cotton and corn and doing custom hay baling and plowing. He has 19 tractors, mostly letter series, ranging from the Farmall F -12 to the Farmall 460. Most are original, some still have factory paint, and others have been beautifully restored. This includes a John Deere \”H\” which was owned by Helen\’s father.
Old tractors and farm equipment have been a special love of the Schulze\’s. Practically all of their equipment is in good working order. Horse drawn era equipment includes an \”M\” horse drawn hay baler, McCormick mowing machine, JD dump hay rake, McCormick 2-row corn and cotton planter, McCormick short vertical corn binder, iron wheeled corn wagon, 2-row section harrow, 1-row garden section harrow, 1-row garden walking planter, a garden push cultivator, 1 horse whirlwind seeder, MH 10 foot grain drill, JD walking moldboard plow, walking middle breaker, sub soiler and black land plows, steel and wooden eveners for 2,3, and 4 horse teams. Tractor era equipment includes an IH Cub power unit, McCormick manure spreader 200, JD 2-bottom gang plows, JD PTO portable hammer mill with sacker, Letz hammer mill with sacker, NH corn sheller with sacker, and JD hand corn sheller along with the conventional plows, planters, etc. The Schulze\’s exhibited and demonstrated 17 tractors and pieces of equipment during the South Central Show in July. The Washington County Farm Bureau, in conjunction with the County Extension Office, has an annual Ag Day for school children. There are as many as 18 demonstrations presented to the children such as planting, corn shelling, baling hay, milking, honey bees, plowing, etc. The Schulze\’s bring tractors and equipment for these demonstrations and answer questions the children may have. These demonstrations are repeated again at the annual Washington County Fair, the oldest County Fair in Texas.
Emery and Helen have been very active in organizations related to agriculture. They are members of the Bluebonnet Beef Breeders Association in which Emery was a Director and Treasurer for 6 years. Emery is a member of the Washington County Beef and Forage Committee which provides a suggested agenda for the County Agent programs. They have been active members of the Gulf Coast Simmental Association since 1975. Helen is a member of the Washington County Cattle Women\’s group. They are long time members of St John\’s Evangelical Lutheran Church (prairie Hill), both being very active in all phases of church work. Emery has served as Sunday School Treasurer since 1967. Helen taught Sunday school, served on the Church Council, and has been a choir member for 20 years.
The Schulze\’s are now retired but stay very busy with their four children, seven grandchildren, church work, county agriculture activities, cattle breeding, and community events. However, they are never too busy to participate when an opportunity arises to pass their knowledge of earlier days to our young people of today.