Family Preserves John Deere Gold

Family Preserves John Deere Gold Gold John Deere tractors will always be a bond for the English family in Evansville Ind Charles English Sr who started it all and passed away in 2024 left behind two full-size tractors one half-size tractor and four 1/16-scale models all in gold “Dad always liked the Deere D The first tractor he bought was a 1930 in 1968 ” says Charlie English Jr noting that was the beginning of 56 years of collecting and restoring the tractors in his Evansville Ind farm shop After Charlie Sr learned about a gold Deere D at a toy show and purchased four golden 1/16-scale models he began a mission to find the gold tractor Deere built in 1937 to celebrate its centennial year An article in the September 3 1938 “Implement & Tractor” reported that Francis Gooden won the bid to buy the gold tractor for his Kingfisher Okla dealership Later he sold it to George Hancock for the same price as a regular Deere D Hancock didn’t coddle the tractor while working his land He put many miles on it just traveling between his two farms 19 miles apart until 1955 when he traded it at a Massey-Harris dealership William Beecher a farmer and part-time worker at the dealership bought it and worked the tractor with a new coat of green paint hard Later he learned about its golden history and around 1970 he took it apart to restore it But he never got around to it When Charlie Sr traced the tractor’s history he contacted Beecher and offered to buy it Beecher wasn’t interested in selling but the two became friends and when Beecher died in 1997 his family honored his wishes to sell it to Charlie Sr “Everything was worn out We figured it had 20 000 working hours There were grooves under the axle from wheat stubble that rubbed against it ” Charlie Jr recalls But there was still gold paint under the rear fenders as proof of its origins and to help match the color to modern paint His dad spent 625 hours restoring it including the engine and buying new parts such as the fenders to make it look like a “showroom tractor ” “Our idea was never to run the tractor ” Charlie Jr says “We’re just trying to keep it showroom new ” It always attracted attention at the 120 shows his father attended It was recently on display at the Classic Green Show in Tennessee The English family moves the tractor using winches and when not on the road it’s securely stored in an enclosed trailer in a barn Since the tractor would never be driven Charlie Sr built a half-scale version for his grandson Charlie English III A 3 1/2-hp Briggs & Stratton engine powers the hydrostatic drive rear end of a Deere Model 316 lawn tractor With help from family and friends it took about 600 hrs to complete and by the time it was finished Charlie III was almost too big to get in the seat Charlie Jr recalls However the young man cherished both tractors and Charlie Sr gave his grandson the 1937 gold tractor at the Classic Green Reunion in Grand Island Neb in 2019 Charlie III now 18 hopes to attend Purdue and earn a mechanical engineering degree in honor of his grandpa The English family inherited eight Deere D tractors “that we can play with ” Charlie Jr says One was painted gold to resemble the original which Charlie Jr gave to his daughter Emily “I would like for Charlie III to pass the tractor down to his kids to keep it in the family ” Charlie Jr says “And we’ll do as many shows as we can manage ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Charlie English III 17105 N St Joseph Ave Evansville Ind 47725 ph 812-963-5051; Charlieqenglish3@gmail com

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