New book

[Kittermankadets85]

My copy came today. Can’t wait to read it.

 

[PACub100]

Woohoo! Means mine should be delivered as well...

 

[Kittermankadets85]

The first 10 pages are pretty interesting lol if the rest is this good shouldn’t be a hard read at all

 

[jbratton]

Interesting. Where can I buy a copy?

 

[Kittermankadets85]

International Harvester A Corporate Tragedy.

Here’s a link they are reprints the original copies are hundreds of dollars

 

[jbratton]

Thanks!

 

[PACub100]

Guess what was on my porch when I got home?
My teenage boys weren't as excited as I was. Really sends it home on my approaching the "over the hill" mark when I'm excited over 2 books and my boys look at me like "doesn't take much, does it dad?"...

 

[Kittermankadets85]

I hear ya buddy I was super excited when mine came too. I need to order “The Breakup” now

 

[tlavalette]

I hear ya buddy I was super excited when mine came too. I need to order “The Breakup” now

I got "The Breakup" from Outback toys awhile go. Very interesting perspectives.

 

[sblunier]

Guess I should hang on to my original copy!

 

[dfrisk]

Steve - My copy of Corp. Tragedy was from the first printing too. And I kept getting copies of C.H. Wendell's 150 years of IHC, Christmas, birthdays. I passed one on to Bryan McMeen, was still wrapped in cellophane.
I expected " The Breakup" to be more about what was really happening between the dealers and the company. The dealers all needed help, and Mother IH's shelves were bare. Things like selling the prototype Super 70 2+2's, status of the full power shift 5x88's, and The articulated Magnum. Actually, the Red Tractor Book describes more of the business goings on in Chicago than anything else I've read. Our department was close to all the top manager's offices at Farmall, the rumor mill was very good too, but when I got laid-off my ready access to what was going on stopped. The Tennaco buy-out and Case & IH merger was a complete surprise. The company I drove semi for was Farmall's captive contract carrier, I stayed busy when FARMALL was running, and I got to see new towns and cities when they shut down and I hauled other "stuff".

 

[dschwandt]

Dennis,
Just curious, who did you drive for and what time period was this?

 

[gloughery]

Tradegy is a good book. It has caused me to pay more attention to the Farmall’s with only the name McCormick on them than other names. Not quite sure I have that timeline figured out yet. Not far enough into the book yet to see how Deere survived.

 

[rkuik]

David, i too have a 1st edition of Tragedy. very interesting book. it covers from the start of old Cyrus up to the point of Tenneco Oil buying IH ag and merging w/Case. where i work we were a Case dealer since 1916 and still a CIH dealer today. i have been there for 40 years and at the time of the merger, we just hired a new store manager that was part owner of an IH dealer that did not continue, so i heard a lot from both sides at that time.

 

[dfrisk]

Dennis,
Just curious, who did you drive for and what time period was this?

Company name was Quad-City Spotting Service. Their yard/shop/office was on West River Drive, across the street from the cemetary. I started part-time and quickly ended up full time. Started mid-summer of 1982. Company finally closed late in 1984 or early '85. Guy by the name of John Bost owned the company. They did lots of local truck load cartage around the Quad-Cities. I ran Davenport to Chicago daily most of the time. Ran to their Kansas City, Mo. Yard a bit. I got dispatched out of KC to Olatha, Ks, picked up a load of BFG tires for Case Burlington, Iowa. I drove a truck without a sleeper bunk, if I had to lay over the company paid for my room. My personal WORST payday was hauling a 45,000# load of bagged wheat germ from Ralston Davenport to Ashton Foods, Ashton, I'll, about the 62? Mile marker on I-88, I made $8.49 for about 7-8 hours work.
I worked for a dipstick doing local delivery for almost a year before I started at Riverside Products Div of Sivyer Steel in Bettendorf. Started as clerk/expiditer and exactly a year later was promoted to Purchasing Agent. We built scrap metal processing equipment. Then I worked as a buyer at the Thermos Plant in Freeport, I'll for 2 years, bought parts and processes for drinking fountains and water coolers. Then worked 4-5 years at APV Crepaco in Lake Mills, Wis. Bought parts and processes for food&chemical processing equipment, INCLUDING the rocket fuel mixer used to mix an entire solid rocket booster for the space shuttle and eliminate the o-rings that failed on the Challenger. Then worked 3 years at Giddings & Lewis Machine Tools in Fond Du Lac, bought parts and processes. And then ten years at Pentair Water Treatment in Brookfield, Wi. Bought parts and processes for water softener valves. I did pedal packages for UPS out of the Milan, Illinois terminal in 1978 while on lay-off from FARMALL.