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OUR STORIES

Memories of an IH Mechanic

As recalled by Alan P. Albright

September 28, 2020

Alan P. Albright shares his memories as an IH dealership mechanic in South Dakota.

Mary Lou Ihrke remembers "The Parts Lady"

by Mary Lou Ihrke

June 10, 2020

Mary Lou Ihrke shares memories of her Aunt, fondly referred to and remembered as "The Parts Lady".

Lessons Taught by a 1460 IH Combine

As recalled by Thomas F. Johnson

January 01, 2020

Thomas Johnson shares how he solved a perplexing problem on a 1460 combine and how he met Dan Kennedy.

Joe Neville and His IH Memories

Cindy Ladage

May 01, 2018

It is amazing that at the Gathering of the Green I had the chance to tour Jon Kinzenbaw’s IH collection and see his factory. While there, I met Joe Neville, who besides being a former IH employee led our group tour of the Kinze factory. 

Waverly Tractor Display Honors a Major Breakthrough in Farming

Ed Dubois

August 12, 1998

There was a breakthrough in farming when tractors began to replace horses in the fields. Machinery revolutionized the agriculture industry. A tribute to the early development of the farm tractor – and to those who saw the potential of the machines and decided to invest in them – has been attracting the attention of passersby in Woodland Township just southwest of Waverly. Dan Borrell, who was only about six years old when his father bought a Farmall row-crop tractor in the early 1940s, has set up a display in a field on the north side of his boyhood home.

Steve Henderson's Memories of His Dad's IH Dealership

Stephen C. Henderson

January 31, 2018

As to the history of our IH business, my Dad was an IH dealer, but owned his own his own business rather than being a manager for an IH-owned store. He did start as an IH employee though. He was originally what IH called a “blockman” who travelled from dealership to dealership. His territory was northern Illinois and northern Indiana, which is how he found out the Wabash dealership was for sale. The dealer had died and Dad began by renting the building...

Dealerships of the Past: A.J. Smith

Julien Smith

April 01, 2017

A.J. Smith International Harvester Dealership, Meyronne, Saskatchewan

Dealerships of the Past: Edgerton, AB IHC Dealers

Gary Warrington

July 01, 2015

In the late 1960’s Vernon Sjoquist bought Miles Garage. I bought my first new vehicle in 1971. It was a Ford half ton as he was a dealer.

Dealerships of the Past: Stoddarts Garage

Scott Warrington

April 01, 2015

Member Scott Warrington of Paradise Valley offered this article with information and pictures from "Oxen Trails to Jet Trails," Paradise Valley Alberta.

Dealerships of the Past: Wilkinson Motors

Scott Warrington

April 01, 2015

Member Scott Warrington from Paradise Valley, AB contributed this article, with excerpts from the book "Winds of Change,” Edgerton & District (printed early '70s).

Dealerships of the Past: Greenhough Brothers

George Greenhough

April 01, 2014

Greenhough Brothers / Greenhough Brothers and Sons / Greenhough's Ltd. / McCormick Deering / IHC Agents

Dealerships of the Past: Oscar Grover & Sons

Lyle & Colleen Grover

January 01, 2014

Oscar Grover & Sons, Wrentham, Alberta, Canada IHC Trucks & Machinery - Propane - 99 Gas & Oil

Dealerships of the Past: Imperial Oil Products

Garry & Donna Meyer

October 01, 2013

This International Harvester Dealership started in Arborfield, Saskatchewan in 1930, run by Sid Ramey until 1936. Between 1936 and 1945 A. Merriman ran the dealership.

Dealerships of the Past: Hays Farm Service

Bernie Yakimyshyn

April 01, 2012

Hays Farm Service, Allen Wolfer, IH Dealer, Hays, Alberta 1955 to 1985

Dealerships of the Past: Nels Anderson

Peter Anderson

October 01, 2011

Nels Anderson, IHC Dealer, Tilley, Alberta, 1927 to 1962

Dealerships of the Past: Aime Rawleigh "Pete" Adam

Karen Adam Dreveski

July 01, 2011

Dealerships of the Past:  Aime Rawleigh "Pete" Adam, International Harvester, 1949 - 1966, Ste. Rose du Lac, Manitoba

Dealerships of the Past: The Algot Family and Their Three-Generation International Harvester Dealership

Bernie Yakimyshyn

January 01, 2011

The fascinating history of this tri-generation IH dealership began in 1902, when pioneer Gustaf (Gus) J. Algot arrived as a young man in Alberta from his native Sweden, looking for opportunity, and ready to make his mark on the world. His travels took him to Vermilion in 1908, where he took homestead papers on a quarter of land 30 miles to the north, which he named Angle...

Ode to the IH 1420 Combine

Harry Lutz

December 04, 2017

Our 1420 IH Axial Flow combine was manufactured in the East Moline, IL International Harvester plant in the fall of 1982. We are proud to say she became a new member of our IH family in November of 2010. Although we never knew her previous owners; she had been well taken care of and did not need much attention before going to the field. After some minor repairs and a fresh service, she was ready to go. She took good care of us, and we took equally good care of...

How Are IH Fans Made?

Kim C. Spaulding

May 05, 2016

This letter was received by Harvester Heritage in 2016 from the former president of the International Harvester Collector's Club's New England Chapter 18, and tells the story of how he became a lifelong IH fan and enthusiast.

IH Previews Iowa’s First Television Show at the 1946 State Fair

Bob Cannon

August 29, 2016

Before any TV stations were on the air in the State of Iowa, radio station KRNT-AM - Des Moines, in cooperation with RCA and International Harvester, gave the 1946 Iowa State Fair visitors a preview of television. The demonstration was staged in the International Harvester tent. Closed circuit TV programs were produced using KRNT-AM personalities & Staff. 

Navistar History 1882-1933 — Alexander Legge - Legendary IH President

Tom Clark, Navistar Corporate Historian

August 09, 2016

Written by Tom Clark, Navistar’s Corporate Historian, this story was originally published in Cornbinder Connection Magazine. The image is used with the permission of The Wisconsin Historical Society. Background reference materials include Alexander Legge 1866-1933 by Forrest Crissey, and stories by Sam Moore.

Navistar History — McCormick, IH and Navistar in Australia and New Zealand

Tom Clark, Navistar's Corporate Historian

August 07, 2016

Written by Tom Clark, Navistar’s Corporate Historian, this story was originally published in Cornbinder Connection Magazine. The color image is used with Navistar’s permission. The black and white image was provided by Sarah Tomac.

Navistar History 1881-1915 — Extortion and Binder Twine in the Yucatan

Tom Clark, Navistar's Corporate Historian

August 01, 2016

Written by Tom Clark, Navistar’s Corporate Historian, this story was originally published in Cornbinder Connection Magazine. The images are used with Navistar’s permission. Reference materials include a 2011 article “The Early 20-Peso Notes of the Reguladora: Revolutionary Intrigues and a Major Hoard” by professor Peter S. Dunham, PhD of Cleveland State University, and a 1982 book, “The Revolution from Without” by Gilbert M. Joseph.

Michigan Dealership in Operation Since 1897

Tom Anderson

April 14, 2016

This article is about an IH dealership near Cadillac, Michigan that has been in continual operation in 1897. John T. Mys started selling IH tractors here in 1944. The dealership is now under a second family ownership, and is the only dealership in Northern Michigan. I have been blessed to have grown up just eight miles from this dealership, and our family has a Farmall AV, a Farmall H, a Cub Cadet, and multiple implements from this dealership.

German IH Letters from WWI

Lloyd Viehland

November 18, 2014

Lloyd Viehland’s great uncle was John Dierking, a Missouri IH employee. In the early 1900s, IH sent John to Germany, South America, and many other places. He came home before WWI, but made many friends overseas. After the war, John continued to work for IH until the 1930s. These are letters from European nationals who worked with John prior to WWI. Many are from German IH employees who became friends with John, telling him their stories from WWI.

TD24 Resurrection

Tim Tipton

May 20, 2013

The centerpiece of all the displays at TEC's 70th anniversary event was a mammoth-size, neon-tube International sign that has been in restoration for seven months at Tractor & Equipment Company. The sign measures approximately20' x 14', with all-new, hand-blown neon tubes. Originally from North Carolina Equipment Company, the sign was in rough shape when TEC purchased it. It went straight into restoration at the TEC shopin Birmingham and is about 90-percent completed.

How Relationships & Experiences Formed & Enabled this Ag Engineer

Gary L. Wells

September 17, 2010

Professor for a Day Presentation for Celebrate ABE@Illinois

Case IH Signs Agreement to Lease Equipment to St. James Farm, Connects to Company’s Roots

William Schubert

August 17, 2012

Worldwide Tractor Test & Development History

William Schubert

December 12, 2015

I was appointed Product Test & Development Engineer in 1967 to lead the development and test group for the Worldwide tractor program at the International Harvester Engineering Center located at 7 South 600, County Line Rd, Hinsdale, IL (the address is now Burr Ridge, IL). I have a BS degree in Agricultural Engineering (1960) with emphasis on Power and Machinery from the University of Illinois. I also completed all the course work for a MS degree in Ag Engineering, but unfortunately I never did complete my thesis. I grew up on a farm located near Trenton, Illinois which is about 30 miles east of St. Louis, and had always liked working with agricultural machinery, especially tractors. I started with International Harvester in Dec 1961. The Worldwide Test & Development Group consisted of four to ten employees that varied as the program progressed. Several had Engineering degrees, but most had learned their trade working on other tractor projects through the years.

IH Farm Equipment Training Center, Tifton, GA

Wiley Johnson

December 12, 2015

The Tifton F E Training Center opened in 1961, approximately fifteen miles north of Tifton, Georgia near the community of Waterloo. The main farm and building were located on approximately 1,300 to 1,400 acres leased from P.D. Fullwood Plant Co. It is located on the west Irwin, east Turner, and north Tift county lines. This included about 450 acres of coastal hay, some 700 acres of open farm land, and some wooded acres. The hay acres were in a government set-aside program, and could be used for demo, but not for production or harvest for sell. It was headed up by Lamar Hartzog as supervisor, with William (Bill) Fessler and Jim Brosnahan as instructors. There were several reasons why South Georgia was chosen:  availably of land at a reasonable rent, the long season for outdoor activity, and the sandy loam soil. In later years, additional acres were rented from neighboring farmers. The mail came to P.O. Box H, Tifton, GA 31794.

Developing the Pro-Harvest Support Program: My Most Exciting & Challenging Assignment at IHC

Dan Kennedy

December 10, 2015

“Failure is NOT an option,” said Wells, “the Axial Flow must fly!”

 

In 1977, 300 of the new Axial Flow combines were released to the field. By 1979 it became clear that we needed to rapidly initiate focused critical customer and dealer support action, as most IH dealers and customers in the field, being unfamiliar with the new rotary technology, were apprehensive. In addition, the competition became very aggressive in their focused effort to discredit the Axial Flow rotary threshing principle.

Frank G. Hough Company Plant in Libertyville

Jack Murrie

May 12, 2015

This story was in the local newspaper, and shares some IH history surrounding The Frank G. Hough Company in Libertyville, Illinois. Perhaps a lot of IH collectors don’t know about this plant.

 

I worked at this plant from 1964 until I retired in late 1991. Mr. Hough (pronounced Huff) was a people person. He really cared about his help. When IH took over, you became just a number.

Have You Seen the Five Millionth IH Tractor? If Not, Now's Your Chance

Joe Neville

November 29, 2008

Thirty-five years ago, IH was busy planning for a one in five million event. This had never been accomplished by any company before and it would happen at the Farmall Plant in early 1974. Many ideas were considered to commemorate the event, but it was finally decided that since there could only be one five millionth tractor—only one would be produced. And what a tractor it was.

Three Titles in One Day

Joe Neville

November 25, 2015

I once had three different jobs in one day:  Product Sales Manager, Planters & Drills, Sales Manager, Hay Tools & Material Handling, and Sales & Inventory Analyst for the Region.

My First Set of Wheels was an IH Tractor

Jet Kaehn

November 27, 2015

The summer before I turned two, my parents took me to the Iowa State Fair where I watched my dad, an IH employee, participate in a “Tractor Square Dance.” The tractors went back and forth, and around each other, and did all kinds of fun movements. My mom and I both loved it, and she tells me I sat riveted through the whole thing, wanting to see it again.

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