One Lucky Lessmann

By Oscar H. Will Iii
Published on December 1, 2005
1 / 12
Top: With the loader arms fully retracted and slightly raised, Don Retzlaff takes Brutus out for a demonstration.
Top: With the loader arms fully retracted and slightly raised, Don Retzlaff takes Brutus out for a demonstration.
2 / 12
Above: The gear-change lever, parking brake lever, brake pedal and clutch pedal are all directly out of the early 1950s Ford truck parts catalog. Don added the foot throttle when he discovered the tractor’s belt-driven governor was no longer functional, and removed the hand throttle in the process.
Above: The gear-change lever, parking brake lever, brake pedal and clutch pedal are all directly out of the early 1950s Ford truck parts catalog. Don added the foot throttle when he discovered the tractor’s belt-driven governor was no longer functional, and removed the hand throttle in the process.
3 / 12
Above: Don Retzlaff’s Lessmann Power Shovel, before restoration and after years of exposure.
Above: Don Retzlaff’s Lessmann Power Shovel, before restoration and after years of exposure.
4 / 12
Above: Detail of the Lessmann’s cast grille. Note the number F1770 in the casting just above the hydraulic pump.
Above: Detail of the Lessmann’s cast grille. Note the number F1770 in the casting just above the hydraulic pump.
5 / 12
Left: The Power Shovel’s serial number plate identifies it as Model H-5.
Left: The Power Shovel’s serial number plate identifies it as Model H-5.
6 / 12
Right: When the Lessmann Power Shovel’s loader arms are extended, the machine has considerably more reach and less excavation ability. This configuration is perfect for stripping bulk material such as road salt from a steep-sided pile.
Right: When the Lessmann Power Shovel’s loader arms are extended, the machine has considerably more reach and less excavation ability. This configuration is perfect for stripping bulk material such as road salt from a steep-sided pile.
7 / 12
Above: Detail view of Don’s beloved Ford flathead V-8. This engine makes about 100 hp in the Lessmann Power Shovel.
Above: Detail view of Don’s beloved Ford flathead V-8. This engine makes about 100 hp in the Lessmann Power Shovel.
8 / 12
Below: This mid-1960s Allis-Chalmers D-14 earns its keep as a mower tractor.
Below: This mid-1960s Allis-Chalmers D-14 earns its keep as a mower tractor.
9 / 12
Right: Detail of the Ford engine’s add-on governor. If operational, a belt from the crankshaft would spin flyweights inside the rpm-regulating device, which in turn would cause the lever (with the eye in the end) to change the carburetor’s butterfly angle (with missing linkage in place) thus regulating the amount of fuel and air available to the engine.
Right: Detail of the Ford engine’s add-on governor. If operational, a belt from the crankshaft would spin flyweights inside the rpm-regulating device, which in turn would cause the lever (with the eye in the end) to change the carburetor’s butterfly angle (with missing linkage in place) thus regulating the amount of fuel and air available to the engine.
10 / 12
Above: This lovely grille belongs to Don’s 1939 Oliver 70 row crop tractor.
Above: This lovely grille belongs to Don’s 1939 Oliver 70 row crop tractor.
11 / 12
Above: Although Don really likes the flathead V-8 in his 1952 Ford pickup, the truck’s grille is also striking – if not slightly ferocious looking.
Above: Although Don really likes the flathead V-8 in his 1952 Ford pickup, the truck’s grille is also striking – if not slightly ferocious looking.
12 / 12
Right: Herbert Lessmann designed and built loaders for Fordson tractors as illustrated here from the late 1920s. This early device utilizes the winch mounted on the rear of the tractor to raise and lower the loader with cables. The bucket used a trip-latch mechanism for dumping.
Right: Herbert Lessmann designed and built loaders for Fordson tractors as illustrated here from the late 1920s. This early device utilizes the winch mounted on the rear of the tractor to raise and lower the loader with cables. The bucket used a trip-latch mechanism for dumping.

When Don Retzlaff saw a Lessmann Mfg. Co. Model
H-5 Power Shovel at the salvage yard, he jumped at the chance to
buy it. “It looked like nothing I had ever seen before, but I
recognized all of the Ford truck parts,” Don says. “I love old
Fords, so I was pretty sure I could make it useful again.” He had
it hauled to his Upper Marlboro, Md., home, and after getting a

Online Store Logo
Need Help? Call 1-866-624-9388