Kendall Borts (seated on the tractor) and Schoenthal family members smile with the completed tractor. Photo courtesy of Kendall Borts.
When Jamestown FFA Alumnus Kendall Borts was asked to restore a 1970 International 826 Gold Demonstrator tractor, gears started turning — and not only on the tractor.
Borts was a student at Jamestown High School and president of his Missouri FFA chapter when a relative approached him and his father, Steve Borts, about a restoration project. The relative, Chris Schoenthal, was impressed with Borts’ work restoring a 1951 Oliver 77, which won Reserve Grand Champion Restored Tractor at the Missouri State Fair.
But there was also a deeper reason behind his request. Schoenthal, who was in his 40s, had been battling cancer for more than three years when he approached Borts about the 826 tractor, which had been owned by his family since the 1970s.
“The Schoenthal family wanted the tractor restored but didn’t have anyone to perform the restoration,” Borts says. “I wanted to do another tractor restoration for the Missouri State Fair [after the Oliver] but didn’t have the finances to purchase another tractor. So, this was the perfect match.”
Hard Work Begins
The 826 project, which Borts began in October 2022, was extensive. By its completion in mid-summer 2023, Borts estimated he had invested more than 500 man-hours in it. His greatest lesson? Patience.
“There were times I was ready to give up,” Borts says. “For example, I spent probably two weeks going over the same spot again and again when I was doing the body work.”
However, he attributes preparing for FFA competitions, such as career and leadership development events, to helping him along the way.
“Ours is a really small school — 100 kids in kindergarten through 12th grade — and we have only one FFA advisor, John Muri,” Borts says. “Mr. Muri can only help so many people at the same time, so it was our responsibility at times to look things up and dig around for information on something we didn’t know about. It was the same thing on this restoration. If I didn’t know something, I had to study the paperwork and manuals of the machine to find out if I was doing something correctly.”
As restoration work proceeded into spring 2023, unfortunately, Chris Schoenthal’s health was declining. He passed away in late April 2023 at age 48.
“When I wanted to give up on the restoration, I remembered all that Chris had gone through with the cancer,” Borts says. “The thought of Chris watching me from above kept me going.”
In early August 2023, Borts invited the Schoenthal family to see the restored tractor, and a few weeks later, it won Grand Champion Restored Tractor at the Missouri State Fair.
Borts’ award-winning tractor was displayed in front of the FFA Building on the Missouri State Fairgrounds. Photo courtesy of Kendall Borts.
“I’m proud to perform this task and dedicate it to the memory of Chris, who was also in FFA and earned the American FFA Degree,” Borts says.
One can only imagine how Schoenthal, who had a love for the International/Case IH brand of farm equipment, would have felt seeing the tractor also displayed at the 2025 Red Power Roundup, an annual event held on the Missouri State Fairgrounds for International Harvester collectors.
Driving Forward
Borts reached another important milestone when he received the American FFA Degree during the 97th National FFA Convention & Expo in 2024.
“FFA opened so many opportunities for me,” he says. “I learned how to be a leader, how to work hard for what I want and to always be goal-oriented.”
Borts says his FFA experiences, particularly developing “people skills” and strengthening his public speaking, help him succeed in his current position as a Case IH parts representative for Crown Power and Equipment in Jefferson City, Mo.
As an FFA Alum, Borts continues to apply skills he learned in his current career. Photo courtesy of Kendall Borts.
Borts is also applying his parts knowledge to his current restoration project. He and his father, another American FFA Degree recipient, are working on a Farmall H tractor they believe dates to 1945.
“We saw a lot of potential in this little tractor, and hopefully we can get it running and use it on our farm,” Borts says.
