What was making news in America in 1939
October 1939: Poland was desperately fighting the German Wehrmacht in the west and the Red Army in the east, vestiges of the Great Depression lingered in this country, FDR was well into his 2nd term as President and your author was in his second month of 1st grade at Court School, a one-roomed frame building in western Pennsylvania.
Case VA-series developed for small farmer
As late as the early 1930s, small acreage farmers with only two or three horses and wanting to go to power farming were left with few options.
Building a high quality carriage is an art
Building a high quality body for a carriage “was an art in itself,” and even a good carpenter or cabinet maker would be unable to do it properly.
Strite tractors once had a storied history
One of the many forgotten pioneers of the fledgling tractor industry was George T. Strite.
Speculators and the wheat market of 1897-98
Joe Leiter's story is another example of how speculators control the prices farmers receive for their products, a practice that continues today -- just ask Marlin Clark.
Deere & Company weathered Great Depression
Not too many of we oldtimers are still around who can say that we lived through the Great Depression of the early 1930s.
Young life
In...
Early U.S. tractor history: The story begins in Iowa in 1892
A book titled Fordson, Farmall, and Poppin’ Johnny, written in 1987 by Robert C. Williams, tells the history of the tractor beginning with John Froelich’s 1892 contraption, generally credited with being the first gasoline engine powered traction engine, up through the 1980s.
Deere played big role in Chicago World’s Fair
Deere & Company was heavily involved, with Charles Deere being appointed one of the two fair commissioners from Illinois.
Daimler history includes a famous Steinway
What do famous musicians Daniel Barenboim, Harry Connick, Jr., Billy Joel, Benjamin Britten, Duke Ellington, George Gershwin, Cole Porter and Vladimir Horowitz, have in common with Gottlieb Daimler, German inventor of one of the first motor cars?
The Lincoln Highway has come a long way
With town by town descriptions, The Complete Official Road Guide of the Lincoln Highway, published in 1916, gives background information and other tidbits about the famous route.
