Cover Story

Story and photos
by Janeen Keener

Gleaming and glistening under a summer sun, the one-year-old John Deere Pavilion draws throngs of admiring visitors, from school boys and girls to international business men and women. The story of John Deere is the story of the American entrepreneurial spirit, and what better place to look for that spirit, but on the banks of the Mighty Miss?

Every attentive Illinois youngster learns that the story of John Deere is the story of American agriculture. Early settlers found Illinois' rich soil a formidable challenge to the cast iron plows used to farm the sandy loam of the East. The rich Midwest earth clung to the plow bottoms. Many settlers reported being so discouraged, they abandoned their hopes of farming in Illinois and moved on or returned home. In 1837, 151 years ago, 32-year-old John Deere, a blacksmith from Vermont who came to Illinois and settled in Grand Detour fashioned a new, "self-polishing" steel plow.

Deere also is credited with helping to revolutionize trade in America. Instead of taking orders for his new plows, he first manufactured them and then took them to the country to be sold. It was an entirely new way of doing business. About the same time, over in Chicago, Cyrus Hall McCormick was perfecting and mass producing the mechanical reaper. Within 10 years, Deere was producing 1,000 plows a year and farmers using McCormick's invention were harvesting five times as much wheat in the same amount of time it took them to do it by hand.

Now, the John Deere Pavilion is part of a downtown renovation project helping to revitalize Moline. It's also a typical example of a growing trend within corporations to create museums, notes Karen Axelrod, co-author of a guide to company-sponsored tourist spots called, "Watch, It Made in the U.S.A." Sprouting up are museums like Spamtown, U.S.A., a product of Hormel Foods Corp., which is preparing to expand from 800 feet to 12,000 feet in Austin, Minn., and which attracted 60,000 visitors last year. Or Binney & Smith Inc.'s Crayola Factory, which draws 300,000 visitors a year to its Easton, Pa., site.

Billed as "The world's most comprehensive agricultural exhibit," the John Deere Pavilion is a 14,400-square-foot, glass-enclosed structure (with an additional 12,000-square-foot front patio) paying homage to Deere's contribution to Illinois and the world. Since its opening, about 180,000 people have visited; it was originally estimated that the site would attract up to 250,000-300,000 annually. Tour guide Elizabeth Hunt said the pavilion attracts many school tours and lots of families.

"It's not just the brick and mortar that attracts our guests," said pavilion manager LuAnn Haydon. "Our guests know they

Murals depicting the four seasons by artist Robin Moline provide the backdrop for vintage John Deere equipment at the year-old pavilion. In the nearby John Deere store, visitors also will find a mural by artist Rob Case, depicted in part in the photo on our cover.

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John Deere Pavilion is located at 1400 River Drive, Moline. Admission to the John Deere Pavilion is free and open to the public year-round. Hours are 9:30 a.m. - 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, 9:30 a.m. - 5 p.m. Saturday, and 12:30 p.m to 5 p.m. Sunday. Visitors also may be interested in other Deere sites. They include the administrative center and two Deere-family homes in Moline, and the original home and blacksmith shop of John Deere in Grand Detour. For more information, call (309) 765-1000.

will get a glimpse of the past. They are intrigued to learn how John Deere products will help feed the world 40 years from now." Parents and teachers, Hunt said, want to expose children to the world and what's in it for them, at the same time helping them to learn what they can do to help. It may seem ironic to some who view the plow as destroyer of prairie and who cast a skeptical eye toward modern agriculture as a major culprit in environmental pollution, but the pavilion pays particular attention to sustainability. Digital counters at "The Future" exhibit tick off an ominous reminder that Mother Earth's population grows about as steadily as arable farmland diminishes.

The pavilion is part of a trend toward corporate museums that provide educational entertainment for children of all ages.

One interactive display follows Deere & Company's rise from making horse-drawn plows to its current status as the world's leading producer of agricultural equipment.

Others follow the "Food and Fiber" theme. A film called The Bounty depicts the lifestyle of a typical farm family as it adjusts to and meets the challenges of the four seasons.

Another feature of the pavilion is the company's attention to art. Noteworthy by themselves are wrought-iron trusses by John Medeweff depicting the food and fiber theme, and murals in the pavilion by artist Robin Moline and in the gift shop by artist Rob Case.

But the single biggest lure here is the equipment — huge green planters, combines and cotton pickers that you can actually climb into, and vintage pieces that are more carefully guarded.

"A lot of folks have never seen big equipment like this," said tour guide Hunt. "They don't know really what it's used for. And when they sit down and watch the

"I will never put my name on a plow that does not have in it the best that is in me."

—JOHN DEERE

AUGUST 1998 ILLINOIS COUNTRY LIVING 11

Green
Magazine

Aficionados may be interested in Green Magazine, a monthly devoted to everything Deere, The magazine, published by Richard and Carol Hain from a refurbished barn on family farmland near Bee, Neb., recently was featured in Rural Electric Nebraskan.

Green Magazine, says the Nebraskan, is a showcase for articles written by Deere aficionados around the country, including staff writer, J. R. Hobbs. Most popular, are the classified ads, sometimes reaching up to 18 of the magazine's 60 pages.

"Collectors always are interested in what's available, or they need a rare part and they hope they'll run across it in our magazine," said Carol Hain.

Some 25,000 people from every state in the nation and places throughout Europe and as far flung as Ethiopia, South Africa, Japan, Tasmania and Zimbabwe subscribe to Green Magazine. They also publish an annual calendar, which in 1999 will feature the 1937 model year. A catalog also is available, which includes how-to videos about some aspect of Deere restoration, replica Deere signs, and weather vanes and clocks.

One-year subscriptions at $25 and two-year subscriptions at $48 are available. The 1999 calendar will be available in September and is $9.50. The catalog is free. All are available at Green Magazine, 2652 Davey Road, Bee, NE 68314, or call (402) 643-6269.

film, It makes them aware of how it's used." Sisters Chris and Alyse Stropes, of Orion, agreed they were attracted to the pavilion because of its educational significance, both worldwide and regionally. And, younger sister Alyse said the best part was being able to climb into the behemoths.

John Deere Commons opened last August on the 150th anniversary of the development of the "self-polishing" plow, adjacent to the site of the first John Deere factory, which was located across the street. It was paid for with about $30 million in federal and state grants and another $20 million in local government and private investment. It's the centerpiece of Moline's riverfront renewal project.

Next to the pavilion, accessible under a protective canopy, is the John Deere Store, offering authentic and licensed merchandise. (The store also features Chad Little's 1996 race car, used during that year's Busch Series race circuit.) Nearby, is Moline's civic center, The Mark (capacity: 12,000), a Radisson Hotel (160 rooms), a transportation center, John Deere Healthcare and a block of historic storefront spaces.

Also close by are miles of biking and hiking trails that run along the Mississippi River.

They all are testament that the beleaguered company and city have weathered the stormy 80s and 90s, and are poised to leap like the deer in the company's distinctive logo into a new decade and century with gusto. They send a message to the world that, in spite of widely circulated reports to the contrary, the Midwest did not rust and die; it's been retooled and is very much alive and kicking.

It's okay to touch some of the displays. While vintage equipment is off-limits, modern equipment is open for closer inspection. What youngster could resist climbing into the cab of a giant combine or a cotton picker, or sitting inside a wheel as big as they are?

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