(La Porte County, IN) - An antique Allis-Chalmers tractor and other pieces of old farm machinery made by the same company were taken from a La Porte area museum featuring technology used in agriculture dating back to the 1800’s.
“Somebody knew what they were going after,” said the victim, Paul Rymer of Mill Creek.
The thefts happened at the Rumely Allis-Chalmers La Porte Heritage Center along Indiana 2 next to the fairgrounds.
Rymer, a long time Allis-Chalmers collector, said the stolen items included an Allis Chalmers G model tractor probably from the 1950’s and a lawn mower tractor likely produced in the late 70’s or early 80’s. He said the G model tractor had a full set of cultivators on it.
“It was kind of rare. You don’t find them usually together,” he said.
Also taken were two sickle bar cutters once used to cut hay, a front axle assembly from a tractor, a portable power unit and a two row planter.
Rymer said he purchased the items from an auction in June of last year and took them to the museum about a year later to display for a show. He was one of the founders of the museum built in 2014 and still serves on its board of directors.
Originally, La Porte County Police said the items were displayed in the museum parking lot but later moved next to a tree line on the property where other equipment was placed for viewing. Rymer told investigators the items were still on display two weeks ago but vanished sometime before he showed up at the museum again on Saturday.
“Every piece was gone,” he said.
Since there were no drag marks left on the ground, police said heavy equipment was likely used to pick up the pieces and place them on a trailer for transport away from the site. Rymer said none of the engines on the tractors were running since they were strictly for display.
“They had to spend some time out there to load this stuff up and take it away,” Rymer said.
Rymer estimated the value of the stolen items at roughly $10,000. Police are hoping to find surveillance video that may have been taken during the heist to provide a major break in the case.
Rymer said his love for Allis-Chalmers equipment dates back to when his wife, who grew up on a farm, worked at the plant in La Porte for 10 years before the doors shut in the early 1980’s. He also visited the plant on a regular basis to work on the telephones as an employee of GTE, the General Telephone and Electronics Corporation.
The museum also features tractors and other machinery produced by Rumely, a former leading La Porte based producer of farm equipment beginning in the late 1800’s. Rymer said the museum owns just two of the many pieces of machinery and memorabilia that came from private owners.
The museum is open every first Saturday of the month from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
