The 86-year-old Lockington-born farmer is among a handful of the organisation’s members who have been involved in all 25 of the vintage tractor and machinery rallies, the latest of which attracted a large crowd to the town at the weekend.
He and his wife of 65 years, Julie, now live in the town, but it is on the land where Joe feels most comfortable.
This year’s event included a special visit by his Western Australia-based niece Lyn Chappel and Joe was right at home with a cup of tea and a sandwich at the heritage group’s headquarters.
The Chappel family has been farming in the Lockington area since the 1800s and two of Joe’s four children continue that tradition. No doubt there will be another generation on the land’ as he also has six grandchildren.
Joe attended a working bee in 1973 for the heritage complex, which is when the group first started.
He had two tractors and a harvester involved in the display of historic farm implements, one tractor a 1951 John Deere and the other a 1935 McCormick Deering W30, the company that was later brought out by International.
“We bought the John Deere for less than £1000 and my wife’s father bought the McCormick Deering brand new,” he said.
Joe also showed the “family car’’, an almost 100-year-old Ajax model made by the Nash company in the United States during the 1920s.
