Jonathan Koester has been a member of the Troy Toppers/Wright Warriors 4-H Club for nine years. Over the course of those years, he’s entered many projects in the Wright County Fair, but there’s no question he saved the best for last. And to think, he almost didn’t get the chance to show off the fruits of his labor because of COVID-19. But even if he hadn’t, he still achieved something much greater than a finished project – time with his grandpa.
It all started when Jon’s dad, Tim, bought a 1955 John Deere 70 Diesel tractor to be restored. For 6.5 years it sat in the shed untouched. With a little encouragement from his mom, Colleen Miller, Jon began working on it in November of 2019, with a little help from his grandpa (Colleen’s dad), Doug Adams. His intention was to enter it as his senior year project in the 2020 Wright County Fair. The first step was to take off the front fenders and hammer out all the dents, and they went from there, one step – one piece at a time. It was great because not only was Jon getting to use some of his welding skills (that’s what he wants his career to be in), but he also got to learn some tips from grandpa who has restored a dozen or more tractors himself over the years.
“But this was my last one,” Adams said with a little smile as his loved ones stood beside him with nods indicating maybe it wouldn’t be.
“It meant a lot to me to work on this tractor with my grandpa,” said Koester. “It was a really good experience.”
Once he and his grandpa completed all the work they could on the farm, they loaded the tractor up and took it to his cousin’s (Tracy Adams) shop in Buffalo Center where they finished the project together. Miller said she was grateful her son received a Titan Tire grant that gave him four free tires for the tractor. He applied for the Titans Tire Antique Restoration Project Grant through 4-H.
In addition to welding, Jon said the project helped him to learn about body work, painting, and mechanical work, of which his grandpa said he did most of.
The restoration took nine months and a combined estimated 150 hours of labor, but it is worth so much more than just that. The numbers can’t put a value on the time spent together between a grandson and his grandfather.
“This made memories for him that he’ll always have,” said his grandfather. “And it showed him I do know something about doing this kind of work,” he added with a laugh.
This project is also special to Koester for another reason. This tractor, and all the parts and pieces to restore it, was his graduation gift from his mom, as well as his grandma and grandpa Adams. It’s also something that he can maybe one day hand down to his own kids and share the story of how it came to be.
“I wanted to do this project not only for the restoration, but also because of the interesting story behind it and how it was completed,” said Jon.
“I’m proud of him. He put a lot of hard work into this…he was even sweating at times,” said Adams.
Since its completion, Koester and Adams have enjoyed some fun with their tractors. Jon took his, while Adams drove his “red tractor” on a recent tractor ride to Buffalo Center with 15 people participating. Adams said it was very different from the usual 200 participants they have for the ride, but with COVID-19, it was scaled back for the safety of all.
The pandemic may have taken away the “normal” ride, but Koester and his entire family are grateful that it didn’t take away the opportunity for him to enter it at the Wright County Fair. When it was first announced that the fair was cancelled, they were concerned that was the end of it. But when the Fair Board found a way to let 4-H and FFA kids still show their projects, be they static exhibit entries or animals, the entire family was relieved. Judging took place on Tuesday, July 7. It was easy to see by the judge’s reaction that she was very impressed. In fact, she was so impressed that she chose it as a State Fair entry. Of course, this year’s Iowa State Fair has also been cancelled, but they are working on a way to have a virtual showing and recognition for all projects that advance from the county fairs.
Although this was the first, Koester said it will most likely not be his last.
