You are NOT going to believe what I was up to last week! I just returned from a 2750 mile excursion that led me to a great old dealership in Harrisonburg, VA called Whitesel Brothers. They've been in business since 1880! Talk about some great history. From there I worked my way up to Pennsylvania to visit the corporate headquarters of Zimmerman Oliver Cletrac. I didn't get to stay as long as I wanted to because I had to be west of Albany, New York the next day.
This was the highlight and main reason for the trip - I found a 1967 model tractor with only 70 original hours. Yes, that was s-e-v-e-n-t-y hours and she was a beauty. It was like driving a brand new old tractor. I can't tell you much more about it or I'll spoil the surprise. You'll just have to read the rest in the next issue of Oliver Heritage. It was a long trip home but looking in the rear view mirror and seeing that checkerboard grill staring at me helped keep me awake.
Now it's back to the real world of deadlines and typing until late into the evenings. Life on the road is interesting but it's always good to be back home.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Welcome!
Welcome to the Heritage Iron blog! For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Sherry Schaefer, the weary editor of two tractor magazines: Oliver Heritage and my newest creation - Heritage Iron. Tractors are in my blood. I know it’s not a normal girl thing but I have always said that I’m my father’s oldest son. My grandpa and Dad were tractor dealers so I’ve always been around it to some extent. Then there was the tractor pulling era of my life. For 20 years, all we did was go tractor pulling all over the US. But if you had told me 15 years ago that I’d be writing about tractors, I would have laughed at you. The path of life sure does have some twists in it.
Last weekend I decided to take a break from typing and venture out of the office. Aumann Auctions was holding a very interesting auction just 30 miles from the house so I thought it was the perfect opportunity to get out and mingle with some tractor folks and see what prices were bringing. Let me just say – The economy has NOT affected the price of tractors. Wow! The first tractor brought $150,000!!! And it wasn’t even John Deere Green!
There were collectors from all over at that auction and I happened to notice a couple fellas from “across the pond”. Later that afternoon while driving around the booming metropolis of Nokomis, IL, I noticed two of the English chaps looking at a tractor in Aumann’s lot. I stopped to visit with them and for some odd reason, they thought I was security coming to chase them off. We had a great visit and ended up going out for supper afterwards to talk tractors.
On Sunday, Aumanns had a customer appreciation day at the auction center. Collectors were invited to plow and disk AFTER we hand-picked and shucked 6 acres of corn. I took my 770 and my disk up to make a few laps around the field. The weather was absolutely gorgeous and everyone was having a blast!
After the day was done, my newfound English collector buddies followed me home to scour through my literature collection. We laughed and shared stories just like we’d known each other forever. It really doesn’t matter where you’re from or what color you collect – there’s a common bond among all who have a soft spot for a big toy we call “a tractor”.
So that was the weekend in a nutshell. Now it’s back to the grindstone to pump out the premier issue of Heritage Iron. We are so excited about this! We hope you are too. And if you want to get your picture (or your tractor’s) in the first issue of Heritage Iron, drop us a line. We’ll be glad to use it in our Blowing Smoke section. Until next time…..Sherry
Last weekend I decided to take a break from typing and venture out of the office. Aumann Auctions was holding a very interesting auction just 30 miles from the house so I thought it was the perfect opportunity to get out and mingle with some tractor folks and see what prices were bringing. Let me just say – The economy has NOT affected the price of tractors. Wow! The first tractor brought $150,000!!! And it wasn’t even John Deere Green!
There were collectors from all over at that auction and I happened to notice a couple fellas from “across the pond”. Later that afternoon while driving around the booming metropolis of Nokomis, IL, I noticed two of the English chaps looking at a tractor in Aumann’s lot. I stopped to visit with them and for some odd reason, they thought I was security coming to chase them off. We had a great visit and ended up going out for supper afterwards to talk tractors.
On Sunday, Aumanns had a customer appreciation day at the auction center. Collectors were invited to plow and disk AFTER we hand-picked and shucked 6 acres of corn. I took my 770 and my disk up to make a few laps around the field. The weather was absolutely gorgeous and everyone was having a blast!
After the day was done, my newfound English collector buddies followed me home to scour through my literature collection. We laughed and shared stories just like we’d known each other forever. It really doesn’t matter where you’re from or what color you collect – there’s a common bond among all who have a soft spot for a big toy we call “a tractor”.
So that was the weekend in a nutshell. Now it’s back to the grindstone to pump out the premier issue of Heritage Iron. We are so excited about this! We hope you are too. And if you want to get your picture (or your tractor’s) in the first issue of Heritage Iron, drop us a line. We’ll be glad to use it in our Blowing Smoke section. Until next time…..Sherry
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