I grew up on a farm in the 1960’s. Farm equipment was intriguing to a young boy. I collected all the farm implement brochures and pored over them. What was even better was the huge selection of Ertl farm toys that mirrored the actual implement they were designed after. Every time we went to the farm dealership, I would head to the toy section while my dad stood at the parts counter or visited with the salesman.
Quite often the implement salesman would stop by the farm, making his rounds in the country. He knew the machinery we had as he had not only sold it to my dad but also observed the frequency we stopped in for parts, giving him a good idea when we were ready to trade up.
My dad was always trying to save money. In the late 60’s he decided we should assemble our own farm machinery. He declared he could do it better than some guy on an assembly line who didn’t care if it worked or not. Maybe that was true, but us boys ended up assembling it. We got a 15’ Glencoe mounted field cultivator. It came in wood crates and a sheet of instructions. I believe they have air impact wrenches on assembly lines. We did not. The next project was a John Deere side delivery hay rake. I am surprised the thing ever raked hay. Over the years it kept falling apart. I am not sure a 12 year-old boy can torque nuts onto bolts properly.
We welcomed the salesman whenever he stopped by. It was like he was this gate keeper of a wonderful world of new equipment which wouldn’t break down. It didn’t really matter what logo was on his jacket, he was there to help keep the farm running smoothly. Sometimes they had to use persuasion to convince my dad. His mind set was to keep fixing for the rest of our life. We had an old sickle mower we cut hay with. Harlan Nereson from Center Supply introduced my dad to the New Idea Cut/ditioner. He brought it out for my dad to use. We went out and mowed hay with it once. No amount of talking could convince my dad like making a round in the field without plugging the sickle section. It sounded like you were grinding ear corn every time you hit a gopher mound, but it kept on mowing hay without stopping.
When I was younger a couple of my neighbors told me about a guy they called the walking implement salesman. No one could recall his name but it seemed he had worked for Brewer Implement in Kasson. Brewer Implement was a family-owned International Harvester dealership which had been serving Dodge County for a century. The story was the original contract for the business had been signed by Cyrus McCormick himself. The dealership was sold in 1968 to Chuck Bishop and Charlie Wacholz.
This salesman would head out each morning on foot with a shoulder bag filled with equipment brochures and sales forms. He would walk the dusty country roads from farm to farm and visit every place he walked by. In those days a family farm included the whole family and if you showed up close to a mealtime you would be invited to stay for lunch. If it wasn’t close to a mealtime you would be invited to stay for coffee or lemonade and a dessert, depending on the season. Sun, rain or snow, he made the rounds and returned each evening with signed sales agreements for the dealership to deliver to the farmer. Everyone stopping by the farm was a welcome visitor and the slower pace of life on the farm seventy-five years ago made time for socializing and enjoying company.
