Hillsboro Fisher Farm & Lawn has given the old Fisher Waterloo Boy a place of prominence in its newly remodeled showroom. In fact, it’s the first thing customers see when they walk in, commanding a lot of attention.
The 1914 Model Waterloo Boy has been in the Company for nearly fifty years. According to Jim Richards, in the early ‘60s, Don Aiken, a store manager, traded a new plow for the Waterloo. Shortly thereafter, Ray Shank and Everett Richards began restoring the tractor, using parts from a Waterloo stationary engine, which they had purchased from Anthony Brothers’ Farms. The only part not original is the radiator, which Shank and Richards fabricated.
Waterloo tractors have a special place in the history of John Deere Company and Fisher Farm & Lawn. Waterloo Gasoline Engine Company built the first successful Waterloo tractor in 1913. That year they produced and sold twenty tractors. In 1914, they introduced the Model R and sold one hundred of those tractors, one of which is Fisher’s own Waterloo.
While Waterloo was developing the tractor, Deere & Company was successfully engaged in production of farm implements. Deere was, however, interested in adding tractors to their lineup. They dabbled in building tractors for a few years, but in the end decided that purchasing the most successful tractor company in the country was their best move. They bought Waterloo for $2.2 million in 1918. Deere continued to produce the Waterloo tractor until 1924, at which time it introduced its Model D, the first tractor bearing the John Deere name.
Fisher’s 1914 Waterloo Boy represented the company in parades and other special events for many years. One year, however, they were asked not to run it in future parades. Though speedy in its day, at five miles per hour it was holding up the event. With the tractor’s parade days over, Fisher Farm & Lawn is now pleased, with this display, to remember the companies, the people, and the events associated with the Waterloo Boy.
