The story of John Deere is one of integrity, innovation, and commitment to quality. Born in Rutland, Vermont in 1804, John was apprenticed to a successful blacksmith in nearby Middlebury when he was 17. In 1836, with money from an investor, he tried to start his own blacksmith shop, but it burned down. John rebuilt, but the shop burned again, and the investor demanded his money. John was penniless, and had few options. He could stay and go to debtors prison, or he could go west, make his fortune, and return to pay off his debt. John skipped town, ending up in Grand Detour, Illinois. He had $73 in his pocket.
In his new blacksmith shop, John Deere found an abandoned steel saw blade. He figured that it would make a better plow blade than the wood blades in current use, so he shaped it, attached it to a plow frame, and history was made.
Improvements over the next few years produced a self-cleaning plow that was the perfect answer to the sticky mid-west soil.
In 1822, John married Demarius Lamb, the daughter of a prosperous Vermont farmer. When, after 38 years of marriage and 10 children, Demarius Deere died, John returned to Vermont to marry Lucenia Lamb, Demarius' sister.
Mr. John Deere:
The history of the Deere Family, and the evolution of the products it produces is detailed in exhibits at the John Deere Pavilion in Moline, IL. You'll notice that Deere and Company is no longer in Grand Detour, IL Needing access to large amounts of raw materials, John moved the company to Moline, which fronts on the Mississippi River.
The Waterloo Boy was one of the first JD products to revolutionize the industry. Previously, large traction engines had provided belt-driven power in the field. Unfortunately, the steam powered machines were pretty much stationary once moved to the field. John Deere foresaw the need to be more mobile, and began to produce smaller tractors, powered by kerosene, fuel oil, and/or gasoline.
The John Deere Model A, although suffering from a strange appearance, was the most successful of the early machines due to its small and maneuverable size.
Of course, there were many new machines on display as well as the antiques. This 6150 tractor with a 569 round baler caught D's attention!
Kent, one of the staff tour guides, gave us a rundown on this harvester, built here in Moline. This machine is set up for harvesting soybeans, although the process is similar for wheat or corn. The mowing blades along the front bottom of the machine cut the plant, which is moved to the center either by augur or belt and moved into the interior of the combine, where the seed are separated from the plant by vibration and vacuum. A series of filter screens further separates the good stuff from the bad. The good stuff is moved to a hopper bin, seen here with the doors open, where it is augured through a tube to a waiting truck or trailer. This is a monster! The cutting bar can be easily removed for transport, and the combine itself simply drives down the road from field to field. The concept of the combine, which is a machine that can combine cutting, separating, and transporting, is a John Deere invention.
The cab contains two seats. Not for a passenger, but as a seat for a trainee. Custom harvesting crews are always training new operators, so JD decided to make it a more comfortable process.
From the cab, it appears that the operator is way up in the air! And he/she is!
Also on display are a couple of examples of products still being tested. A wireless lawn mower and a tractor that doesn't need an operator!
A few miles away from the John Deere Pavilion is the Deere and Company World Headquarters.
In a building designed by Eero Saarinen, another display of John Deere equipment can be seen in a magnificent glass-walled room. I asked the docent why some equipment was painted yellow, not green. The answer? Yellow denotes construction equipment, not farm equipment.
Corporate office buildings surround the display building on the over 100 acre campus.
This has been an informative day and it has been wonderful to see the progression of one man's idea to the multi-billion dollar company that John Deere has become. Truly an American story.
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