"The Big Dig " Historical Construction Equipment Association (HCEA) International Conventioncomes to Kansas

The Big Dig

September 2, 2021

Joe Ballentine, Onaga, Kan., parades his 1918 Case J.I. at the Big Dig held Aug. 27, 28 and 29 at the Kurt Kocher Farm south of Concordia. Ballentine has had the machine for six or seven years having purchased it out of northeast Nebraska. Before that it was in South Dakota and it is thought to have first been used near Fargo, N.D.

With historical equipment crawling, rolling, moving or being displayed about as far as the eye could see, arriving at the site of the "Big Dig" was a bit of a "Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore" experience. "The Big Dig" is a simple moniker for the event's official title, Historical Construction Equipment Association (HCEA) International Convention and Old Equipment Exposition hosted by Prairie Plowing Days.

The Big Dig sprawled over a larger than half-section area of the Kurt Kocher farm in Cloud County, Kan., just northwest of Glasco and south of Concordia. With the size...

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