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July, 1999

7-1-99:  Getting ready for the parade today.  Carolyn and I got some Fourth of July decorations at a party store on the way home from work.  I replaced all of the drawbar bolts with the square head bolts, and painted them green.  I spoke with the owner of the TLC animal shelter, and they will make some flyers that we will hand out along with 4 bags of candy that Carolyn got today.

7-2-99:  I went over to the Township Park garage this morning to get the hay wagon.  They have just painted it green and yellow, and replaced several boards on the rack on the back.  I parked the tractor and wagon in front of the house and we started decorating.  Some of the kids who will ride on the wagon came over to help.  Carolyn's mom and brother Paul and his son came up from Kentucky for the weekend, and will ride on the wagon too.

I drove it over to The TLC animal shelter with Paul following along in his truck, where the tractor and wagon will spend the night.  We covered the tractor and wagon with tarps to keep it dry, in case it rains tonight (looks like it might).

7-3-99:  Paul and Carolyn drove everyone over to TLC at 9:30am, where we uncovered everything and started the tractor.  We got our number (#30), and they told us what to do, so we did it.  Then we waited for the parade to start.  After it got going, I just putted along, using full speed and a low gear.  The temperature was 96, heat index of 106.  The parade organizers handed out liter bottles of cold water, which sure were welcome.  There must have been a thousand people lined up for the parade, more than I expected by a mile.  Wow!!!  There were two Farmall Cubs and an old 1925 Mack flat bed truck (with a 1922 Cat Twenty on it!!!) along with a model A, a few 60's vintage cars, and a 1940's Diamond Stake truck.  Lots of fun.  When the parade ended, I drove the rig home.

Click here to see photos of the parade.

7-5-99:  I read on one of the Web boards that I look at that Vicki L. Eller at Deere will look up information about a tractor if you give her a serial number.  I sent it off today, and will see what happens.

7-16-99:  Got a reply from Vicki ! Here it is:

Terry,
Your model B, s/n 108978, was built 2/26/41 and shipped 2/27/41 to Dorchester, IL.  Unfortunately, no data was kept on the original purchaser or dealer, or special or optional equipment ordered with the tractor.
Manuals are still available and may be ordered by calling 800-522-7448.
Sincerely,
Vicki L. Eller Reference Archivist Deere & Company Archives One John Deere Place Moline, IL 61265-8098 ve52554@deere.com Fax 309.765.2751

News Flash: The John Deere Collector Center put an end to this free service. You now need to join the Collector Center or Two Cylinder Club for the information in the John Deere arvhives. Sorry about that....

Wow! Dorchester is about 12 miles southwest of Litchfield, IL, where Jeff Bergman lives.  I guess B108978 did not travel far after it arrived from the factory.

Click here for the Yahoo! map of Litchfield and Dorchester, IL.

7-11-99:  Carolyn and I went to Peoria to the "Heart of America" fair, where (along with everything else we got to see), they had a 1936 model B with a corn planter, a late styled model A, a couple of restored GP's, a really nice styled model G, a 1952 model M, and a 530LP.  There were two M-M's, an AC and a couple of Case's also.  One fellow had a trailer full of pedal tractors, that made a real cute display!  Carolyn found a bunch of real nice quilts (she is just starting to make one), and a few really well made craft items that she liked.  This is our first fair of the year.  We plotted out our schedule for the summer: Next weekend we will go to the Kane County fair, then in August, to Milwaukee for the Wisconsin fair, Des Moines for the Iowa fair, and Louisville for the Kentucky fair, along with the local Will County, Kankakee County, and then for Labor day, we will take the tractor to the Sandwich fair.

7-18-99:  We went to the Kane County fair today, and ... what a disappointment.  Not one tractor on display.  Not even new equipment.  They did have a good demolition derby, so all was not lost.

7-25-99:  Carolyn, Pat and I went to Valparaiso, Indiana to a tractor show.  They have an old farm there, and plant and harvest crops.  We got to see a Waterloo Boy tractor, the first one I have ever gotten to see.  They also had the last DI Industrial tractor on display, as well as a couple of "Spoker" model D's, one with the little flywheel, one with the big.  One unstyled model A caught my attention, as the PTO shaft was twisted about 5 degrees.  I guess the PTO was running something that suddenly stopped, and the shaft got twisted before whatever it was broke or the tractor stalled. 

Click here to see the Valparaiso tractors

7-31-99:  Carolyn and I went to Dubuque, Iowa to see our friends who were showing a model B in the 4-H building.  Jim Hilkins and his sons Clint and Willi rebuilt Jim's dad's tractor as a 4-H project.  They won a blue ribbon, and can take the tractor to the Iowa State fair, which is in about two weeks.  We sat with Jim and the boys watching the antique tractor pulls for a while.  This looks like fun.  Just might try it myself next year.

Click here to see photos of the Hilkins' and their tractor

Clickhereto go to August and September.