Not only do the Dumonts own all sixteen, but they were gracious enough to display them for Little G Expo 2005, so other collectors could enjoy them. Lyle made four 5 hour round trips to Dyersville to deliver them and of course, four 5 hour round trips to get them back to Sigourney..

Most of the beautifully restored tractors sported an attachment or accessories as well including:

#31 tiller, 43" blade, Johnson loaders , 43 center blade, Haban Sickle Mower, Brinly plow, 33 tiller, front weights, 54 inch blade, generator, Sun Shade, Brinly planter, chrome hub caps, a PTO, and a # 80 patio dump cart. Lyle posed them in a semi-circle so photographs could be taken and then all were moved to a large tent for protection from the weather. The Ertl Precision Patio 140 set and all four LGT patio pedal tractors were added to make the Patio display complete. The very colorful display was a real crowd pleaser and the Dumonts were kept busy all weekend answering questions and posing for pictures. Lyle is a painter by trade and perhaps the most frequently asked question was what type of paint he used to get such a beautiful finish and shine. His answer: acrylic enamel with hardener.

Lyle began collecting in 1962, first Model T’s and then tractors. He and Helen married in 1963 and both continued collecting. Helen has an impressive collection of dolls of the world and over 500 Barbies. Lyle collected big tractors and toys, concentrating especially on Ertl and Nylint trucks and pedal tractors. He has owned all but four of the pedal tractors. The four elusive tractors?

1) The Ford with chain steering

2) The first John Deere A

3) The John Deere coffin block

4) The International M with axle housing cast to the body

He has come across them, but the cost was prohibitive when there were so many other wonderful things to collect! Even without those four, he has well over 200 pedal tractors.

In addition to these collections, they also have impressive collections of Roy Rogers memorabilia, oil & gas cans, signs, thermometers, gas pumps, bicycles, NASCAR, and sports items. Finding storage for all the collections was soon a problem that we can all identify with. They held over 15 auctions to pare the collections to just those items that they really enjoy and then decided to build a museum to share the collections with the public.

The Dumont Museum project began in 1994, and opened to the public in 1996. Roy Rogers Jr. came for the official dedication in 2000. The 24,000 square feet of immaculate display space is filled with all the above items, many garden tractors of all brands, plus over 100 full sized tractors including the John Deere Spoke Flywheel D and the Waterloo Boy, Farmalls, and dozens of Olivers. In the lobby of the museum is a train layout added in the fall of 2005, that features a 600 pound mountain with Lionel trains, and vignettes that take at least an hour to fully enjoy. Lights work, a tiny fair is fully operational, there is a working traffic accident, and you can even hear the driver place his order in the McDonald’s drive-thru.