February 5, 2024
Warder, Bushnell & Glessner Co.
Benjamin Warder began building reapers at Spring field, Ohio in 1850. Prior to that time, Warder had established a sawmill, grist mill, and woolen mill. A factory designed to make […]
January 26, 2024
General Motors Corp., Pontiac, Michigan.
William C. Durant, chairman and majority stockholder of General Motors Corporation was determined to meet the Fordson challenge by getting into the tractor business. If nothing else, it was a […]
January 9, 2024
John Lauson Mfg. Co.
Few boys of fourteen years are forced to assume a man’s tasks, but thus it was with John Lauson. His father and four other brothers had come from Germany and […]
September 26, 2023
Tractors From Around The Globe
The history of German tractors is a testament to the country’s engineering dexterity and agricultural heritage. The roots of German tractor manufacturing can be traced back to the late 19th […]
July 21, 2023
The Allis-Chalmers Story
Perhaps to its own harm, Allis-Chalmers has at times represented the ultimate in diversification. Even in the early days when Decker & Seville was scarcely established, the firm built stone […]
July 17, 2023
Tools & Technology
The changing role of hydraulics Hydraulics is all about moving large things with a small object using a simple principle. In agriculture, hydraulic pumps and cylinders appeared as a special […]
June 2, 2023
Steiger Tiger III
Large four-wheel drive articulated tractors typically have been common in the Great Plains states of America and the western prairie provinces of Canada. Several tractor manufacturers were born in these […]
April 13, 2023
Back Down the Line
It is always great to hear from readers. I received a letter in the mail from Mr. John Russel of Indiana concerning the November/December installment of “Back down the line.” […]
April 5, 2023
Got One?
Seems like today, the person who gets 10 years of trouble free operation from a refrigerator should count themselves amongst the lucky. However, if you bought an International, a half […]
March 29, 2023
Milk: From the dairy to your door. Our changing Americana
For many years, this sign (below) would greet those who entered Minneapolis, Minnesota on one of the main thoroughfares. The sign’s three dimensional Guernsey heads are still fresh on the […]
Read More… from Milk: From the dairy to your door. Our changing Americana
March 22, 2023
Crops
Fertilizer starts with an “M” Well, something like that. OK, at our place it did. I was accused of being a poor speller by my teachers in school. It made […]
March 15, 2023
Prestige Case IH 7150
The Ertl Prestige series of miniatures has been around for about 15 years now and seems to continue to gain in popularity. The models have a relatively high level of […]
March 8, 2023
Short line: Ronning Ensilage Harvester
In many ways, Adolph Ronning was a typical Minnesota farm boy. One of nine children, he grew up on a farm near Boyd, in Lac qui Parle County, and graduated […]
February 7, 2023
Deere & Co. Company History
John Deere was born at Rutland, Vermont on February 7, 1804. By 1823 he had become a blacksmith, and spent the next few years working in various shops. The […]
January 25, 2023
Avery Company History
Robert H. and Cyrus M. Avery formed the Avery Planter company at Galesburg, Illinois in 1874. Robert Avery had developed some ideas about corn planters during his imprisonment at Andersonville, […]
January 20, 2023
Advance-Rumely Thresher Co. History
Meinrad Rumely was born in Germany in 1823, and came to the United States in 1848. Two brothers, Jacob and John, had emigrated earlier. For a time he worked with […]
January 9, 2023
The State of the Antique Tractor Market
Anyone who has anything negative to say about the tractor market hasn’t been paying attention this year! I often read online comments about how the tractor market is failing and […]
December 28, 2022
IH 781 / 881 Forage Harvesters
In 1981, IH replaced its 720 and 830 forage harvesters with newer, updated models, the 781 and 881. These new forage harvesters were very similar to their older counterparts. Both […]
December 7, 2022
Ford Tractor
Hello, readers! I do hope your summer and fall have been good to you. I am sorry about taking longer to write about Ford tractors than I intended, but farm […]
Partnerships and mergers – John Deere
Partnerships and mergers Most everyone knows that John Deere, after losing his father at an early age and through his mother’s encouragement to learn a trade, became an apprentice blacksmith. […]
October 17, 2022
Nine Goats and a 2640
The house I live in was built in 1907 by my great grandparents, Blanche Sheffield and Clarence Burrell. The Sheffield and Burrell families had been neighbors in Boone, Iowa before […]
October 14, 2022
Take a look-farm toy sets
My farm toy collecting interests have changed over time and I’m sure that’s true for most people in this hobby. I started receiving farm toys when I was quite young, […]
October 12, 2022
Shortline
Pig Iron Peddler and déjà vu Okay, hope 2019 has started well for our readers. Down here in Texas, we are still wet from fall and early winter rains. It’s […]
October 10, 2022
Memorabilia
Bottle openers Part of the fun of collecting is seeing the vast array of different types of literature and memorabilia that is out there in the farm world. Recently we […]
October 8, 2022
Truck Pages-Snow Plows
Yep, just about done. Only a few scoops left. You’ve been out here shoveling for hours to clear the driveway. You stand up and stretch—it feels like your back will […]
October 7, 2022
The life of an EMT in small town America
EMT means emergency medical technician. It is a level of training that is above first responder and lower than EMTI (an intermediate level EMT and below a paramedic). In small […]
October 3, 2022
Industry
I am sort of doubling up with this article. What we’re going to be looking at is the bicentennial edition of John Deere’s Furrow magazine. The Furrow is a Deere […]
September 30, 2022
John Deere art
There have been many very good artists over time and their art has become a large boost to JD nostalgia. Most early advertising was paintings and that continued, along with […]
September 28, 2022
Back down the line
I am looking forward to this visit. This picture is really interesting and has a lot of small detail in it. If I remember correctly, when I bought the picture, […]
September 22, 2022
Ann Arbor Machine Co. History
The history of Ann Arbor Machine Company goes back to 1882. The company began in a small way building hay presses and other machines. Their heavy duty Columbia hay press […]
American Seeding Machine Company History
American Seeding Machine Company was organized in 1903. This merger brought together several competing companies. Ostensibly, the plan was to achieve the benefits of mass production by eliminating a great […]
September 21, 2022
A note about the Huber gas tractor records
The existing Huber records are handwritten documents in two separate books, a sales register & a build records book. Neither book is complete. Between both books we can often provide […]
A note on Huber during the depression
We know from survivors and family members of Huber employees that during the depths of the depression Huber employees worked without getting paid. The company did not have the funds. […]
Huber Model 20-36
On January 25, 1929, Huber completed tractor # 9414. This was the first production 20-36. Probably owing to the success of the Huber “Light Four” cross motor tractor the 20-36 […]
Nichols & Shepard Company History
John Nichols opened a blacksmith shop at Battle Creek, Michigan in 1848. Little is known of Nichols’ early life, nor does anything but the most scant history of the early […]
Minneapolis-Moline Company History
As with the Cockshutt line, the Minneapolis- Moline line had no connection with Oliver Corporation in the strictest sense. The commonality lies in the acquisition of Minneapolis-Moline, Cockshutt, and Oliver […]
Hart-Parr Company History
In 1872, Charles Walter Hart was born at Charles City, Iowa. The Hart family had arrived on the Massachusetts shore in 1632…this particular scion of the family came to Iowa […]
September 19, 2022
International Harvester Company History
Before Cyrus Hall McCormick’s death in 1884, he and William Deering spoke of amalgamation, but nothing came of these conversations. Records of the following years indicate that a number of […]
Deering Harvester Co. History
Deering Harvester Company formed another major root of International Harvester Company. When William Deering became involved in the harvester business, Cyrus Hall McCormick had been at it for about forty […]
September 16, 2022
McCormick Harvesting Machine Co. History
The year 1981 marks the 150th Anniversary of the McCormick reaper. From this crude machine of 1831 the McCormick empire was built, and through it International Harvester Company gained its […]
American Tractor Company History
Although J. I. Case was actively engaged in the construction machinery business, particularly in the 1912-1920 period, it is curious indeed that they made no overt move into the crawler […]
Rock Island Plow Company History
Of all the companies acquired by J. I. Case, the Rock Island Plow Company remains as one of the most significant. Curiously though, Case closed out the Rock Island tractor […]
Emerson-Brantingham Company History
In 1852 John H. Manny Company was organized to build the Manny reaper. Two years later, in 1854, Manny built nearly 1,000 reapers. His small factory at Waddam’s Grove, Stephenson […]
September 15, 2022
J.I. Case History
Everything in life has its challenges. The history of mechanized agriculture is certainly no exception. Although the history of J. I. Case Company is seen here through the product lines, […]
September 14, 2022
My part of the world
An itch gets scratched In our last visit, I mentioned that I was hoping to go to Colorado and cut wheat. Finally this summer, a plan worked out. A few […]
John Deere story time
Writing stories when you have no idea what you are doing is fun and interesting. When this all started five years ago and I told this to Richard, he made […]
1967 industrial parts flyer
Do you see this? It is a John Deere Parts and Merchandise Adviser from 1981 (Photo 1). It is full of John Deere service parts, tools and other items that […]
Ford 6000
Maybe it is fitting that the styling of the Ford 6000 has sometimes been described as odd, because the story of the tractor can only be described the same way. […]
Versatile 700
When most people think of Versatile, they think of really big tractors, so many would be surprised to learn that it wasn’t until 1972 that the company introduced a tractor […]
September 13, 2022
Farmall 806
In the year 1963, IH released its first “clean sheet” designed tractor that was engineered at its new Hinsdale, Illinois engineering facility. This was the new model 806 tractor. The […]
