Orange tractor related but NOT Kubota

[ken erickson]

My dad passed away in 2016 and while I was his personal representative I just became aware of, and in possession, of this neat little tractor related memorabilia.
Judging from the condition I doubt he ever wore it as a tie tack or lapel pin.

My dad finished his tool and die apprenticeship at Allis Chalmers in West Allis Wi early in 1956. Approximately 6 months before I was born. He went straight from high school to Allis in 1952.

He spent a large part of his apprenticeship and years as a journey man tool and die maker in the tractor division. He saw the first of the WD-45 series tractor rolling out the door. He liked the WD-45 enough that when he purchased a small hobby farm he sought and found a WD-45 and used it for plowing, planting and harvesting a few acres of corn for feeder hog feed.

 

[NorthwoodsLife]

That is awesome.

Sometimes it is the small things. That mean the most.

 

[jaxs]

What a fine heirloom. Inheriting the WD-45 would be great if one was into collecting tractors but would be like finding a dead elephant in the garage for a great-grandson with no interest in tractors .
This little pin can be cherished by descendants even if they know nothing about tractors.

 

[D2Cat]

Based on your description of your father, him being employed his entire working life at one place and the case he kept the metal in, he probable cherished that as much as you will now! What a treasure and a reminder of your heritage.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

An AC WD-45 was the first tractor I learned to operate, I loved that tractor.

 

[Bee-Positive]

Great find - the simplest things are the best.

My dad was in the navy in WWII. A fire controller, aimed the big guns on a destroyer, talked about three rings of ships circling Iwo Jima for three days shelling it non stop. I have a table spoon with USN stamped on it that he actually used while enlisted. It is one my most cherished possessions.

 

[bird dogger]

I , too, grew up with dad's WD45 and a Minneapolis Moline "U". Spent many a long, hot, dusty, dirty day alone in the fields with them. Good times!!]

 

[armylifer]

My dad passed away in 2016 and while I was his personal representative I just became aware of, and in possession, of this neat little tractor related memorabilia.
Judging from the condition I doubt he ever wore it as a tie tack or lapel pin.

My dad finished his tool and die apprenticeship at Allis Chalmers in West Allis Wi early in 1956. Approximately 6 months before I was born. He went straight from high school to Allis in 1952.

He spent a large part of his apprenticeship and years as a journey man tool and die maker in the tractor division. He saw the first of the WD-45 series tractor rolling out the door. He liked the WD-45 enough that when he purchased a small hobby farm he sought and found a WD-45 and used it for plowing, planting and harvesting a few acres of corn for feeder hog feed.

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Your dad and my uncle started working at AC about the same time. I don't know exactly what his job was but I know that for at least sometime during his tenure there that he operated a lathe. My uncle started working there after he was discharged from the US Army after the Korean war. It is possible that they may have known each other. Many of the AC workers would frequent a bar in West Allis called D'lapa's M&R bar. There were a couple of other bars that got lunch time business from AC employees but I knew several that frequented the M&R Bar.

Anyway, my uncle also retired from AC before the company was sold and the pension fund was robbed.

 

[Hoserman]

That pin is awesome. Don't lose it or I'll find it with my metal detector and hold it hostage.

 

[ken erickson]

Your dad and my uncle started working at AC about the same time. I don't know exactly what his job was but I know that for at least sometime during his tenure there that he operated a lathe. My uncle started working there after he was discharged from the US Army after the Korean war. It is possible that they may have known each other. Many of the AC workers would frequent a bar in West Allis called D'lapa's M&R bar. There were a couple of other bars that got lunch time business from AC employees but I knew several that frequented the M&R Bar.

Anyway, my uncle also retired from AC before the company was sold and the pension fund was robbed.

Thanks for sharing!

It really amazes me how a company as divested and large as AC was at one time how it was mis-managed the way it was.

There were many labor disputes and strikes durning that time period. My dad told stories of having to pick up work as a bar tender, possibly at M&R! He also took a door to door sales job as a Fuller Brush salesman durning times of lay-offs.

My grandfather, dads dad, retired from the turbine division at AC about 1965. The year he retired him and Grandma purchased a VW camper van, long distance and site unseen in France. They flew to France, picked up the van, toured Europe, transported the van back to the states on one of the ocean liners.

 

[Jinx]

My dad passed away in 2016 and while I was his personal representative I just became aware of, and in possession, of this neat little tractor related memorabilia.
Judging from the condition I doubt he ever wore it as a tie tack or lapel pin.

My dad finished his tool and die apprenticeship at Allis Chalmers in West Allis Wi early in 1956. Approximately 6 months before I was born. He went straight from high school to Allis in 1952.

He spent a large part of his apprenticeship and years as a journey man tool and die maker in the tractor division. He saw the first of the WD-45 series tractor rolling out the door. He liked the WD-45 enough that when he purchased a small hobby farm he sought and found a WD-45 and used it for plowing, planting and harvesting a few acres of corn for feeder hog feed.

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What an incredible piece of history—not just the pin, but your dad’s story behind it. That’s a legacy to be proud of. Working at Allis Chalmers during the peak of the WD-45 era must have been something special. It’s amazing that he came full circle—helping build those machines and later relying on one for his own farm.