When I was a lad in my early teens, about 1947, I worked for our
friend, Hamlin Last. His neighbor, Harold Vetter, owned a manure
loader. In the spring and fall, he would do custom manure hauling.
In those days, farmers piled their cow manure. I drove one of the
spreader tractors, as in the picture. There were usually three
tractors with manure spreaders hauling manure. In its day, it was
could load a spreader in less than two minutes. He did most of his
custom work in the western part of Manitowoc County, Wis. Hammy and
his family and my family have remained friends through the years. I
took my 1952 A to his 80th birthday party four years ago. He bought
a John Deere A in 1952 for $2,475.
I restored the 1952 John Deere A 10 years ago. It is like the
one I drove when I was a kid. I restored the spreader this past
spring; it was built in the 1940s. The tractor I restored on the
loader is a 1938 John Deere A. The loader was built in the late
1930s or early 1940s. I now have a complete set. I have fun running
it at our show and demonstrating how it works.
– Jim Newman
W. 3366 County TK C
Sheboygan Falls, WI 53085
