Rusty Treasures : Attraction of Tractors Leaves Mark on His Life

Don’t expect to offend Laverne Steinert by calling his collection of rusting farm equipment junk. He agrees.

But this man’s junk also is his treasure, and he stubbornly defends his right to keep it in his yard in Russell.

“I’ve just got junk all over,” he said, laughing, as he surveyed his home of 42 years.

Steinert, 63, said he has been fascinated by tractors since his father first let him ride one on their farm near Milberger.

He still has the 1929 McCormick-Deering tractor, and he hopes to get it in running order some day.

That’s his goal for most of the aging tractors parked in his front yard. Some run, some don’t; but Steinert prizes them just the same.

Started Young

Steinert was 8 years old when his father finally let him drive a tractor.

“He told me I couldn’t do it, but I showed him,” he said, admitting that his father had to shift the gears for him because his legs were too short to reach the clutch.

He began collecting old tractors about 12 years ago, when he gave up farming his land 10 miles northwest of Russell to care for his aging father. He said his father never could understand why his son likes tractors so much, and Steinert admits he isn’t sure, either.

“I don’t know what fascinates me about ‘em,” he said. “I like to drive the damn things.”

Maybe it relates to his disdain for horses, he explained.

Tractors began to replace horses when he was growing up, although his father preferred the animals.

“I hated ‘em,” Steinert said. “I had my fill.

“Dad wanted to stay with horses. He thought using tractors was getting awful lazy.”

It isn’t just any tractor that captures Steinert’s attention. It’s one with steel wheels.

A tractor not worthy of restoration is worth buying if it has steel wheels, he said. He owns several, and one day the wheels will replace the rubber tires found on his prized tractors.

He estimates he has about 40 tractors altogether. About half are found in his yard in Russell.

Unappreciated Hobby

That has drawn the ire of neighbors and the city for several years, he admitted, but he refuses to give in.

He said his lawyer has fought successfully to keep the city from removing the display.

He has made a few concessions. He moved the tractors clear of the intersection’s sight triangle, and he keeps them two feet from the sidewalks--or at least where sidewalks ought to be. The brick paths have crumbled and are overgrown with grass.

But as long as Steinert doesn’t call his collection a museum, he contends, he can keep his tractors. His lawyer maintains they are “yard ornaments” and therefore fall within the guidelines of the neighborhood’s zoning.

The neighbors, either out of acceptance or exasperation, “have quit complaining,” Steinert said.

And as long as Steinert complies with traffic regulations, the city seems reluctant to press the issue. City officials said no action was planned to force Steinert to clean up his yard.

Steinert keeps his tractors in his yard, he said, because that’s where he works on them. He ventures to his land north of town only when he wants to work on the tractors stored there or when his tenant needs help farming.

About a dozen of the tractors run; the rest are in varying stages of decay.

“It’s an interesting hobby, but expensive,” he said. “You have to work every once in a while.”

Parts aren’t hard to find, he said, because many of the old tractors still sit where farmers abandoned them half a century ago.

Famous Brands

Most of Steinert’s tractors were made by McCormick-Deering, which later became International, but he also owns a few John Deere and Case models.

The same models were made for several years, so the radiator from a 1930 model will fit a 1933, he explained.

Spare parts won’t help the biggest problem of locked-up engines. Because the tractors were left outdoors, most won’t run because the pistons are rusted tight.

“If you’re lucky enough, you can get them loose,” Steinert said.

He succeeded with a 1931 McCormick-Deering F-30.

He also has accumulated enough spare parts to restore that model, and someday he’ll get it done, he said.

The repairs get delayed, he said, because he’s too busy haggling over the price of another tractor he wants to acquire or doing an odd job to earn the money.

He recently bought a 1930 McCormick-Deering Regular, and he has tracked down enough parts to begin repairing it.

Acquiring the old tractors sometimes is difficult, he said. Sentimental owners fear the tractors will be resold for scrap iron.

“I don’t sell them,” he said. “They sell to me because they know I’ll keep them.”