In his free time he, wife Lisa, and son AJ collect garden tractors and attachments. So far they have 32 tractors. Brands they have collected include John Deere, Bolens, David Bradley, Panzer, and Yazoo. Wife Lisa takes an active part in collecting and has her own Panzer. In addition to the tractors, they have a wide assortment of attachments including snow blades, snow blowers, mower decks, cultivators, plows, and garden carts.

When the collection outgrew their basement, Andy and Lisa decided to build the barn they had always wanted. They didn’t want a Pole barn, they wanted an old one, so they decided to find one to tear down and move. They had already been looking for several years and decided it would take more than one barn because most of the old barns are in bad shape.

Andy’s Uncle Tim, who also collects garden tractors, heard from a friend about the first barn they could tear down. As they began removing the old barn, a friend of Andy’s Dad asked if they would like an old crib to tear down too. Andy accepted and the work began.

The barn was 30 x 30 with a 20 x 30 lean -to and a full hay mow. The Hinrichs tore it down in June 2009. The demolition took 75 man hours and they were able to save 2 x 6 studs, 2 x 6 rafters, the barn floor, floor joists, and the exterior lumber.

The corn crib was torn down in July 2009. It was 30 x 50 and took 100 man hours to dismantle. It had 3-16 x 16 grain bins above the crib and they were lined with 1 x 8 shiplap, which was all salvageable. Other lumber saved from this building include 3 x 6 studs, 2 x 6 rafters, the grain bin floor, 6 X 6 floor joists, and the interior wall lumber.

During the demolition projects, Andy said he got the " crazy idea" to make it a museum rather than just a place to store the tractors. He thought, " Let’s build a barn to display our collection of garden tractors and old stuff and set it up to be like a museum. I also thought, why not have a garden tractor show as well. We can use the barn as the main attraction of the show. I talked to Tim and Lisa and they thought it was a great idea. So we designed the barn to store our collection of tractors and to be able to show them at any time."

Construction of the Hinrichs Garden Tractor Museum started on September 3, 2009. The 2 X 6 studs from the first barn were ripped and cut to length for the walls. New 2 X 6 lumber was used to construct the rafters. The hay mow floor was built using new 2 X 12 for the floor joists and lumber from the old barns for to construct the floor. Hay mow steps were built with new 2 X 12 for the stringers and floor joists out of the barn were used for the treads. The interior walls on the lower level were lined with boards from the grain bins. The old gates from the corn crib were used around the bottom of those walls. Some of the V-paneling out of the barn was used to line the upper walls of the lower level of the lean-to.

The exterior was constructed of all new materials. New vinyl windows were installed. New red tin was used on the exterior walls and galvanized tin on the roof. Construction was completed on November 12, 2009.

The Museum now holds the Hinrichs collection of over 30 tractors and an endless selection of attachments. The hay mow displays include old hand tools, hay carriages, hay forks, and other old tools used on the farm. An old bench rescued from the first barn found it’s home there as well.

They have two rope makers: one is old and the other is new. They enjoy giving rope making demonstrations for visitors. Some of you may have seen Andy make a rope at the Little G Expo several years ago. It’s a really amazing process and it goes very fast.

Other items on display include an old cider press from the 1800's that they still use in the fall and several old corn shellers.

The Hinrichs held their first garden tractor show, called " AJ’s Garden Tractor Jamboree", on May 8, 2010. Although the weather wasn’t very nice, they still had a good turnout. There were 58 registered exhibitors, over 150 garden tractors, 8 full size tractors, and over 350 visitors.

They had the usual things you see at a show: a parade, a Poker run, plowing, a great lunch stand, etc., BUT they have something never seen before: a Tractor-pult! They rounded up the necessary items and built a catapult strong enough to launch bowling balls, tires, push mowers, and even a garden tractor. Definitely the high point of the show !

They are planning to make the Jamboree an annual event. This year’s Jamboree is scheduled for May 14, 2011. If you can’t wait until then, call Andy at 815-732-6551 for an appointment and feel free to bring a group if you wish.

As I said in the beginning, Andy is a busy guy. He works as an engineer, has the cabinet business on the side, has a wife and son, collects garden tractors and attachments, tears down barns, built a Museum, and has already hosted his first garden tractor show.