Modeling the Machinery

I haven't done a Vintage Thingie Thursday post in a while, and I think it's time to fix that!  



Recently, I sat down with my father to look through his scrapbook of the early years of his career.  This is my dad, Don, in 1961.

He wasn't a farmer, but he played one in print ads for John Deere.

Dad worked in the sales department at John Deere in Horicon, Wisconsin, the small town where he was born and raised and where he raised his own family.  The John Deere Horicon Works plant, in those years, made farm implements, namely, grain drills, fertilizer spreaders, and the like.  

Dad's main job in the sales department from 1958 to about 1963 was drawing parts in exploded view for the parts catalog.  His drawings were then sent to company headquarters in Moline, Illinois where they were rendered by artists and used in a variety of printed materials.

The sales department was also involved in photographing the equipment for ad campaigns and brochures.  My father was recruited to drive the tractors and operate the equipment for such publicity.  In his words, "They needed somebody tall who would stand out."  Six-four and athletically built, Don was their man.

Some of the photography was done here in Wisconsin.  Other shoots took place in Montana, North Dakota, and Texas. 

Here are a few more brochures featuring Dad modeling the machinery.

 

In 1960, Deere introduced its "New Generation of Power" line of tractors, which replaced the legendary "Johnny Poppers."  

"New Generation" 4010 Diesel

Dad traveled with the company to set up and demonstrate the equipment, including the unveiling of the new tractor line at the momentous Deere Day in Dallas in late August 1960 (just a couple weeks after I was born). 

His job also took him to state fairs to demo and discuss with local farmers the new tractors and machinery.

Nice pith helmet!

 

Though he enjoyed traveling the country, Dad said it was always good to come back home to his family.  I don't remember much about his days on the road, as my sister and I were very young at the time.  I do know that it was while he was traveling on business in Minneapolis that he bought my sister and I our first (the first) Barbie doll.

 

Looks like they had it pretty rough sometimes.

One of his funny stories from the road was of having to stay in Grand Forks, North Dakota for two rainy weeks while they waited for weather to clear long enough to do a photo shoot.  They set up the equipment near the field in a Quonset hut that was used to store potatoes.  It was April, and the potatoes had begun to rot.  You can imagine the smell!

During this extended stay and rain delay, their evening routine quickly became  humdrum—see a show (movie), go to dinner...see a show, go to dinner.  One night the crew wandered over to a tavern after dinner and debated how they might get their bar tab approved by management when they returned home.  One of the men, a writer for John Deere Magazine, motioned for the drink receipt, then flipped it over and began to pen their plight on the reverse side:

"To my dear old Mr. Davis,

Our car is Hertz, not Avis.

Our problem is the weather,

an opponent we face together.

So here's good cheer to the Horicon crew,

'Twas good old 'Alphonsio' who bought the brew!"

The story goes that Mr. Davis got such a kick out of the whole thing, he told them to put the tab through as "entertainment expense."

 

In 1963, Dad began a different but equally interesting phase of his career as one of a handful of salesmen to debut to dealers across the country the very first lawn and garden tractor manufactured by John Deere, the Model 110.

But that's all we have time for today, friends.  I'll continue this story another time. Hope you enjoyed this vintage tractor ride down memory lane with my dad.   Thanks for visiting, and be sure to check out the fun and eclectic linky party of all things vintage at Colorado Lady!