20 Years Ago

By Staff
Published on January 1, 2006
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Marlene Schnell on her anniversary present from her husband Wayne, a John Deere Lindemann crawler.
Marlene Schnell on her anniversary present from her husband Wayne, a John Deere Lindemann crawler.
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Brad Hauck’s before and after photos of his restored John Deere Model B tractor.
Brad Hauck’s before and after photos of his restored John Deere Model B tractor.

Reminiscing Gas Engine Magazine

The January 1986 cover of GEM did little to
forecast the trouble in the coming year. No, the serene picture of
a John Deere tractor under a partly cloudy sky could not have
predicted what would be the worst drought to ever hit the
Midwest.

Such is life. You never know what is just around the corner. At
any rate, GEM featured many articles on John Deere restorations in
this issue. The cover story on page 9 showcased a John Deere GP
wide tread. Author Gene Gregory did not have his hopes up for
finding this tractor, seeing as how there were only 444 ever built
with over-the-top steering. After just 10 months of work and
driving 300 miles to get it, Gregory turned the tractor, in fair to
poor condition, into a beautiful, original-looking machine.

Another article on page 12 featured a John Deere Model BR, circa
1944, serial no. 333353. There were only 1,063 that year.

Still another article was about a John Deere Model B on page 21.
The tractor was a 1935 short frame that had been painted over
without cleaning. It was in bad shape. Brad Hauck, the owner,
restored it after a great deal of work and even traded the tires in
for steel wheels.

Perhaps the funniest story in this issue was called “Marlene’s
Lindemann” on page 18. It was about a man and his wife who had gone
to a show where they saw the Lindemann crawler. Wayne Schnell, the
author and husband, seemed infatuated with the machine and
surprised his wife with the Lindemann as a gift for their 30th
wedding anniversary. She said she wanted a microwave. He said that
was trivial. In the end she was thrilled and “speechless” with the
gift. Schnell ended his piece this way: “On our 31st wedding
anniversary, coming up next year, I think I will get her another
gift. It will be something trivial. Maybe a microwave would be
nice.”

Oh, the differences between men and women are timeless. See you
next month for more reminiscing and more fun.

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