Massive collection of John Deere toys, farm memorabilia will be on display this weekend

Cliff Grant has more than 4,000 toys of iconic farm brand

Photos by Ginny Kropf: Cliff and Sue Grant of Gasport sit by a portrait of the late John Deere in one of three barns full of toys. They will have an open house from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at their home at 3251 Hosmer Rd.

GASPORT – An avid toy collector will share his massive array of John Deere toys and other farm memorabilia at an open house Aug. 22 and 23 at 3251 Hosmer Rd.

Cliff Grant first started collecting toy tractors when he bought his first son a rubber tractor teething toy. When his son no longer used it, Grant put it up on a shelf. His first actual toy tractor was a John Deere 5020 which he purchased at the State Fair.

Grant grew up on an 81-acre farm on the Johnson Road, Middleport, and although he didn’t go on to be a farmer, that life never left him.

“The farm wasn’t big enough to support two families, so I pursued a different career,” Grant said.

He completed a machinist course at BOCES, and after graduating from Royalton-Hartland High School, he went to work at E&M Enterprises in Middleport, where he stayed for 16 years. Next he went to Harrison Radiator in Lockport, where he would spend 30 years.

His love of farm tractors and toys stems from the fact he grew up with seven sisters, and there weren’t many boy toys around, he said. His only brother would be born while Grant was serving with the Army in Vietnam.

“He was 21 years younger than me,” Grant said. “As the years went along, I’d see a toy and buy it if I liked it.”

“We would stop at any John Deere dealer we saw,” said his wife Sue. “We still do.”

A life-size John Deere tractor is on display in one of Cliff Grant’s barns, along with hundreds of toy tractors and other memorabilia, much of it paying tribute to John Deere.

His collection of more than 4,000 toys includes 125 pedal cars, 10 lawn and garden tractors, a toy John Deere motorcycle and snowmobile, manure spreader, planter and numerous collections, such as Mickey Mouse and Molly Moo characters on John Deere equipment.

He has five real tractors that run, a line of 15-scale and 8-scale toys, one of every brand of pedal tractor, John Deere hammocks and flags, cookie jars, lunch pails, mail boxes and numerous framed pictures.

“I first started out only collecting John Deere, then I branched out to other makes,” Grant said.

He has several one-of-a-kind items in his collection, including a yellow and a lavender Oliver.

A 1960 grain drill was once owned by Dave Culver of Albion, Grant said.

One display case houses memorabilia from a trip to Germany the Grants made with the Middleport Community Choir, including pictures taken by the late Herb Koenig during a visit to Mannheim. John Deere’s 6000 series tractors were made there.

In 2000, Grant bought a John Deere Gator to run, but he has never put the battery in it, instead choosing to display it on a shelf.

Grant built his first barn to house his collection in 2000.

“We got it done and it wasn’t big enough,” Grant said. “So we decided to buy a second building from Penn Yan. It came in two sections.”

A third barn was built 10 years ago and is also full.

Jim and Margaret Lustumbo of Medina are close friends of the Grants and said his collection is overwhelming.

“We are so impressed and everything is so nicely displayed,” Jim said. “There is so much history there.”

The Lustombos said they also know Cliff as “Santa Claus.”

“Every year we celebrate the Twelve Days of Christmas, and Cliff and Sue come as Mr. and Mrs. Claus,” Jim said.

In addition to collecting toys, Cliff and Sue Grant are Mr. and Mrs. Claus at Christmas time. Shown here is their sleigh.

Although Cliff is a farm boy, Sue grew up in town and calls herself a “farmer in training.” While she supports Cliff in his love of farm toys, she calls it “a wonderful hobby which has become an insane obsession.”

“It draws people from all over the state,” she said. “When the FFA Convention was in Medina, they came here on a tour.”

The open house Aug. 22 and 23 will be the first in 10 years, Sue said.

On Sunday, Cafora’s Pizza from Newfane will be on site selling pizza and cold drinks. Also on Sunday, the Model T Club will be on site, along with other vintage automobiles. Both days, farmers from the local area will have their modern equipment on display in the yard. This includes McCullum, Verratti, Silsby’s, Tom Britt, Steve Spencer and Jason Besso.

The open house will be from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day.

The Grants say they also welcome individual tours and anyone interested in coming to see his massive collection may call them at (716) 213-3016.