If you ever find yourself at Aullwood Audobon near Dayton, you might notice this tractor in the farmyard. It’s an Oliver 60, a tractor produced by the Oliver Farm Equipment Company between 1940 and 1964.
Production took place at a plant in Charles City, Iowa.
I don’t know what it is but farm equipment always catches my eye and I especially liked this one. The color, the vertical treatment of the brand name and the style of grill are all appealing to me.
Want to see it in person? You can read about one of my visits to Aullwood and the fabulous creatures that live there by clicking here.
I wonder if the Oliver tractors have any connection to Oliver typewriters (which are also green and date to an earlier part of the century).
That’s an interesting question. The internet tells me that both companies were born in Iowa and founded by men named Oliver but claims there’s no connection. However, they seem to use the same font in their branding. Hmm. I feel like there’s a story here!
My dad worked for Oliver — or Oliver’s, as we all said. The South Bend plant made things that went on tractors or were towed behind tractors. The 60 was before his time there, though.
Cool! What did he do there?
Also, another reader asked if there’s a connection between the Oliver tractor company and the Oliver typewriter folks. Any idea? The internet says no but both companies originated in Iowa and use what appears to be the same or very similar font.
Dad started in fabrication, drove a truck for them for a while, and wound up Quality Control Manager before the South Bend plant shut down.
I don’t know for sure, but I don’t think the two companies are related. I came upon this on a building in the Loop in Chicago once:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/mobilene/32344283498/
Ooh. How neat is that???