Redbird Antique Mall
 by Cindy Ladage
When you walk into the Redbird Antique Mall, be prepared to be surprised. Along with a wide array of antiques, you will see Don Corrie's array of antique tractors as well. "I don't know of any other antique mall in the US that has antique tractors in it!" Don said.
Neither did we! The Redbird Antique Mall is stuffed full of books, furniture, glassware, old wrenches, albums, motorcycle memorabilia, knives, kitchen gadgets, lamps, and seed sacks. You name it they have it. With 33 booths and 27 dealers, the mall offers a bit of everything.
And for the antique tractor collector the Don Corrie offers it all! There is only one catch; while you can buy any antique you want, the tractors are not for sale!
Don doesn't collect just any type of tractor, mind you but pristinely restored, rare International Harvester tractors. Don Corrie also throws in a few neat implements like a McCormick Deering Potato picker and a McCormick Deering corn grinder and a hard to find electrall for good measure.
Don Corrie and his wife Shirley purchased an antique mall November 30, of 2004. "We bought the mall it was my daughter (Laura Matthews) idea. She is into antiques. On one side, there had been oak furniture and antiques on the other side," Don said.
Rather than keep the oak furniture, Don had a better idea. He brought in his favorite tractors from his shop down the street and put them on display.
In the shop where he worked, Don has been in the tractor restoration business for about almost two decades. "Over nineteen years I've painted 292 tractors along with Max Armstrong's tractors."
For anyone that doesn't know, Max Armstrong is the voice of agriculture along with Orion Samuelson on Chicago's WGN. Max is also heavily involved in the antique tractor hobby promoting all brands, but with an absolute affinity for IH.
In fact, on display in his shop Don has a neat IH Super M pedal tractor given to him by Max Armstrong. Don's restoration has hooked him up with people from all walks of life and all corners of the US. "I've worked on tractors from Utah to Connecticut. I've done tractors from coast to coast and border to border."
At the time of the interview, Don had a three year to three and a half year waiting list. "I have one tractor in the paint booth and nineteen in line," he said.
Don is rather famous in tractor circles. He has been in five books including two written by IH expert Guy Faye and on the cover of the magazine Fast Line.
Don retired in 1987 at the age of 44 from working as a cement finisher. How did he go from a cement finisher to a tractor painter? Don said, "All I'll say is my first tractor compared to my last is a lot different."
Since then he has worked with tractors and collected a few for himself along the way. Luckily for visitors to the antique he is willing to share some of the best you will probably ever see.
Don usually takes his tractor to the annual International Harvester show, the Red Power Round Up. In 2006, he took his IH O-4 and it was the only one in Mansfield, Ohio. He has had a bit of fun with his O-4. With the sleek race car look to it he has been messing with the kids at the local County Fair. "I have the kids convinced the O-4 can go 100 miles per hour!"
The O-S4 was restored three years ago. "I restored it for my nine year old grand daughter Brenna Norman."
Brenna drives the tractor in parades and thinks it is her tractor. While the O-S4 may be Brenna's, grand daughter Stephanie Bell who is a senior at ISU this year and studying to become a teacher, has been driving the O-4 since she was five. Stephanie lays claim to the O4.
Many of Don's tractors are rather rare. He has an experimental IH W6 prototype and two tractors that were the second ones built. One of those is a 660 that was with Serial number 502. Several collectors have been trying to buy thistractor, but Don knows he will be in trouble if he sells it. "My grandson Zack drives it. He claims it as his."
Don and Shirley have two children. Their daughter Laura Matthews is involved in running the antique mall along with her mom. Laura has three kids; Stephanie aged 22, Josh 21, and Brenna age 11.
Their son John is married to Jackie. "My son manages a pipe business and I often drive the semi and pick up pipe for him."
John and Jackie have two boys, Zack who is 15, and Alex (AJ) who is 11."
The tractors all mesh with a sense of family. A family run business with family tractors provides a sense of a theme at the Redbird Antique Mall!
Going along with the importance of family Don also has on display his fathers 1944 Farmall M which his son John purchased. "Dad died in 1967. Mom sold the farm in 1968 and the tractor stayed with the farm until 1992."
It was in 1992 after the farm had a series of owners that Don's son John decided to look into buying the tractor. It was still there. John bought the tractor and struck up a deal. "He said, I bought it and you paint it and refinish it and it will be ours. I think it was the German in him because the tires cost more than the tractor! I painted it and did all the work, and he knows the tractor will be his anyway someday."
About the same time that Don and Shirley were setting up their antique store the Chenoa High school where Don, his children and grandchildren had attended was consolidating and they were selling off items that had served Chenoa Redbird fans for years. Don's daughter Laura and grand daughters said, "We need that for the mall."
Don said he turned to his daughter and told her, "You know, you just named the mall." Thus, Redbird Antique Mall was named! Beside the tractors, the walls are covered with Redbird memorabilia adding a family connection to the room. Don has taken uniforms, trophies and a variety of other family school items and made the room a mini Corrie museum. He even has his uniform from school with a Chenoa logo he designed himself.
The Redbird Antique Mall is located at 100 E. Cemetery Avenue in Chenoa, IL 61726. Open Tuesday - Saturday from 10 to 6 and Sunday from 1 to 6 and closed on Monday. Call 815-945-5000 if you have questions.
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