More of Dove's Antique Machines
September/October 1997
Hoy D. Dove, jr., and Andrew H. Dove
 |
Tiger.
|
Rt. 1, Box 149-B, Mathias, West Virginia 26812
We were so pleased with a previous article in GEM (July 1991,
pages 12-13) that we started another one but never really got it
together. Instead, these pieces and pictures seem to be handy and
worthy of sharing with you.
All of the pictures were taken in front of our shop except the
Tiger, the white tractor in the bed of leaves. I was fortunate to
get a Tiger tractor, as they were built in Keyser, West Virginia. I
went to college there in 1952-1954 and remember walking by the
factory many times and viewing the plant operations though not
being terribly interested anymore than most farm boys. Some fine
Keyser people have started the 'Tiger Club' and have taken
a big hand in the Apple Harvest Festival at nearby Burlington, West
Virginia, which features an impressive car, truck, tractor, and
excellent craft exhibit with the benefits going to the Burlington
Children's Home. The Keyser Tiger Club has had an article in
GEM. At any rate, every worthy West Virginia collector has to have
a Tiger in his collection, and we now have ours. My uncle owned one
in the late Fifties and called it the poorest tractor ever. Wait
till you see our Gravely Model D produced at Dunbar, West Virginia,
another fine West Virginia tractor, or our Bear Cat, produced by
Ellinwood Industries at Huntington, West Virginia.
Another tractor pictured is the Endless Tred. Ours is the Sam A.
Beechy and Sons Model 8-R6-100 produced in Salisbury, Pennsylvania.
I mention this here because just across the Potomac River from
Keyser in Cumberland, Maryland, a worthy Endless Tred machine was
built for some years. I was pleasantly surprised to find a newly
built Endless Tred garden tractor in 1993 back in West Virginia at
a very large extensive country hardware store. The tractor was so
covered over with other hardware items and surrounded by stoves
that it was difficult to see. It carried a $499.95 price tag, but I
couldn't determine the builder.
The Jari is still manufactured today and I have seen some recent
literature of their present models. Ours has the nice width
cultivator and frankly, in the junk pile where we found it, I
thought it was a snow blower. We also have a reel mower pictured
with it. It was manufactured by Jari Products, Inc., Minneapolis,
Minnesota. It's unfortunate, but while it has a brief listing
in the Baas & King garden tractor books, no pictures at
all.
The Yard Hand is pictured on page 52 of Baas's book. It was
at Redwood City, California, and sold at least for some time by the
Sears and Roebuck mail order catalog company. I have always thought
that way too much of the Yard Hand's being was caught up in its
extreme and aerodynamic body style. I'm in agreement with Mr.
Baasnot much is known of this little rider.