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Mount Rushmore and John DeereThis was my Father’s 1942 John Deere B, serial #100175.
This tractor was purchased new in early 1942 from the Franz tractor dealership in Tomah Wisconsin. It then became the only tractor for many years at Brookside Dairy Farm near Sparta, Wisconsin.
In the Winter of 1966-67 we did not notice there was no oil pressure, from a frozen oil pump while sawing firewood. We locked up the engine. Dad and my brother Marvin junked it in the woods after removing wheels, carb, mag, etc.
It bothered us seeing it in the woods, so out it came in 1993. It had missing parts, animals living in the cases and 10 bullet holes. I said to my Father “This tractor and Mount Rushmore are the same age. God willing it is going to run again and ride me there”. He said “I was crazy” and chuckled.
In the picture it still has the bullet holes in the hood and the dent that my father’s foot put in it April 19th 1947 during a big roll over. The tractor is running on many of Steiner parts, performs perfect, and your decal looks great!
I was ushered in to Mount Rushmore and parked in the front of the entrance. What a day, what a trip! I met so many wonderful folks on the journey.
May 15th thru June 1st 2017, round trip at 12 mph. 75 years old, both tractor and Mount Rushmore.
Dewey Brooks
Wonewoc, Wisconsin
Andrew Hellmann, Tyler Moore, Kyla Hueffmeier, Allen Shepard, Chris Nowak, Brandon Julius, Zach Jasper, Eli Frost, Alexis Musket, Lucas Hellebusch, David Ley, Nick Dierking and Dan Brinkmann
We would like to welcome the Four Rivers Career Center to our tractor family. The FRCC will be sharing a new video series to our SteinerTractor.TV channel. The students from Four Rivers Career Center are restoring a 1949 John Deere A, and a 1951 Farmall H. In the first video they outline the criteria to participate in the program then give a little heads up on upcoming projects. Check back to watch the progress as the students complete the restoration on these tractors, and include a few video tips of things they have learned.
I teach Automotive Technology at Four Rivers Career Center (4RCC) in Washington Missouri. We have high school and adult students in our class. I am one of two instructors in the Auto program. At the career center, we have several programs available to students that you could check out on the website if you like. Its an awesome place to get a project built as there are many skilled trades in the building. This is 14 years under my belt as an instructor.
In 2008, I was approached by a friend of mine to see if any students would be interested in rebuilding a motorcycle top to bottom. Since this does not fit in the curriculum, I needed to find a way to fit the project in. I had all summer to think about it and then I decided to try and use the motorcycle for student advantage and mine as well. This was the starting point of what we call Night Shift at 4RCC.
For student to participate in Night Shift I wanted to set standards that would drive students to achieve higher standards in school that would make them better prepared for the work force when they entered it.
The standards are:
- 95% Attendance
- Turn in homework 100% of the time
- CANNOT fail another class
- 85% minimum grade in the class at 4RCC
- Cannot upset the boss (me or any other instructor at 4RCC)
- Cannot get in trouble with the law
- Belong to SkillsUSA or FFA
- Mandatory parent meeting at the beginning
There is no cost to the student to participate. I have been volunteering my time to this program and will continue to as long as my wife allows me to. We meet on Tuesday and Thursday nights from 3:30-7 at 4RCC. It started as an Auto Tech only class but has evolved into something a lot bigger now. Students are responsible not only for the project at hand but also are required to cook meals at Night Shift as well. This is to help prepare them for college life if they need it… I try to encourage them to prepare healthy meals to break them of the dependence of fast food.
Early projects included motorcycles, cars and pickups. We mainly made routine repairs and some advanced diagnostics that were not possible during the regular schedule of the day. I did notice when the weather would get warmer, student numbers would drop off with these projects. In 2014 we did work on three Peterbilt semi trucks for the ATHS show in Springfield Missouri. I noticed the participation was through the roof! I started that year with 12 and ended with the same 12. That was a signal for me that students want to work on something other than the normal day.
I had brought in a Ford 841 of my cousin’s to repair a failed second gear. I noticed the students REALLY got into the project. Since we were splitting the machine, we decided to paint it. The next year the students took on a 960 Ford and made it a little nicer! In 2015, we decided to go all out and dove into a Massey Ferguson 180 owned since new by my Uncle Jim.
The 180 officially became mine on September 5, 2015. I wanted to refine the 180 and to show-pony status as it was a huge influence on me as a boy. I had the right machine, students, and the time was right to pull the trigger. We almost completely dismantled the 180 to make needed repairs, but took it a step further. All castings are smoothed out to make the tractor look glass smooth. This pushed the students farther than they thought they could go and achieve results and have such a pride in work they can call their own.
All the students can put their hand on a part of the tractor and claim it as their own. They had to remove the part, repair it, refine it, paint it, then install it. As we went on in the project, employers were hiring these students right and left since these students already know how to work and manage themselves in a work setting. It’s funny how an old tractor can build a future for someone…
Night Shift has evolved from just Auto Tech students to district wide and even have some elementary students joining us now. Its purpose is to get those kids on the fence to make good life decisions and provide them with life skills and a sense of pride in knowing you can accomplish something big if your willing to put in the time and effort.
We recently worked on a 1948 Farmall C for the Knights of Columbus Journey For Charity tractor cruise. It was raffled off in September 2017 and proceeds went to local food pantries. It is also highly refined and building character in these students.
Dan Brinkman
Follow Four Rivers Career Center on their Facebook page.
The tractor pictured is a 1942 John Deere A. “My Grandpa
This is a picture of my Dad, Marvin, when he was 90 years old. We had just come from a farm auction where he picked up this nice old John Deere B for $1,000. Dad is now 94 with dementia and in a care center. He still talks about his good buy of the John Deere B.
Greg Flugum
Iowa
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Growing up, I spent many summer days on my aunt and uncle’s farm. My uncle had primarily John Deere model A or model B tractors, so that is what I became familiar with.
Many years later when I had my own place with 26 acres, I was able to acquire a John Deere model 50. I’ve used it mainly for grading or clearing the driveway, hauling a hack rack full of brush, and most importantly fun family hayrack rides a couple of times a year. i’ve had this tractor for 20+ years and feel very fortunate to have it here and functional today!
Gary Waniska
Tecumseh, Kansas
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I purchased my first John Deere 830 nearly two years ago. It is my favorite tractor out of way too many! It took a year and six figures for a full restoration-every nut and bolt. It is truly a brand new 830!
The serial number is 8304358. If I can ever find a consecutive serial number I would be forever grateful and I would love to purchase it above market if she still exists. My email is bowlusholdings@gmail.com should anyone ever comes across either -57 or -59. Thanks in advance!
John Bowlus
Chagrin Falls, Ohio
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Not much to say about this John Deere G tractor at this point except I seen it sitting on a vacant lot for some time when my son-in-law started working for the company that owns that lot and was put in charge of cleaning it up.
I ended up purchasing the tractor with the understanding that it had run just a few years prior. The motor was tight when I bought the tractor and I tried everything possible to loosen it up without any success. I ended up taking it apart and found a mouse nest in the water jacket and rust in the one cylinder so bad that after taking it apart I used a 20 ton jack and 20 lb hammer to get the one piston out. After checking out the rest of the tractor the only good thing on it was the transmission and the Roll-O-Matic. So I had to decide, am I going to scrap the G and hope to get some of my money back or do we rebuild the entire tractor. After leaving it sit in my shop all torn apart I decided to rebuild or maybe I should say build a G John Deere. I don’t have a lot of photos at this time but I can keep posting as we work on it. And thank you Steiner for the few items already, you should be seeing more orders coming your way as we get along with the rebuilding.
Jake Suderman
Walhalla, North Dakota
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Each year we offer an exclusive tractor hat that can be purchased at a discounted price on qualifying retail orders. 2017 was our 40th anniversary so we wanted to do something special and offered 4 hats, 1 for each decade of selling new parts for old tractors. Did you collect all 4? Here’s your last chance! Get all 4 hats from our flame series for the price of 1 while supplies lasts. During checkout simply enter coupon code 4FLAME and the bundle of hats will automatically be added to your order.