August 21, 2024:   Well over 100 visitors, including members of the Glencoe and District Historical Society, neighbours, community members and John Deere enthusiasts from far and wide, gathered at the home of Dave McEachren on Olde Dr. on Wednesday evening, August 21.

After self-guided tours of his outdoor displays, Dave spoke to the crowd explaining that, at age 10, he had first become involved in the Glencoe Fair farm toy competition. He recalled buying his “first toy that he didn’t play with” from Tips. Following the advice of his uncle, he chose to focus on one thing to collect and he chose John Deere. His focus grew from toys to signs, memorabilia, tractors and other equipment.

Having worked at the local John Deere dealership, Dave said he became fascinated with the history of the man named John Deere who was born in 1804. A blacksmith who found himself in debt, John Deere moved from Vermont to Illinois where he discovered and began making self-scouring steel plows in 1837. In 1847, Deere moved to Moline, Illinois where he built a factory, soon making over 100,000 plows a year. His son, Charles Deere, got his business degree and truly made the company what it is today. The business, now known world-wide, grew to produce other implements and gradually moved into making tractors in 1918.

McEachren shared the history of the company and some trivia before opening the door to his impressive indoor museum McEachren Collection at Forty-87, featuring everything from toys to John Deere literature.  Historical Society past president Ken Beecroft thanked Dave for sharing the story of John Deere’s life and his fascinating collection.

The McEachren Collection @ Forty-87 ;  As a 10-year old boy, Dave witnessed a few fellow neighborhood farm boys displaying their collections of farm toys at the Glencoe Fair.  It was that day that he decided to stop “playing in the dirt” with his toys and start collecting them instead.  More than a few decades later the dream of opening his own museum to share his ever-growing John Deere collection has come to light.  

The McEachren Collection @ Forty-87 includes over 40 real tractors, thousands of farm toy models, and tens of thousands of pieces of memorabilia and sales-related literature.  There will be something of interest for everyone, from local dealer history to samples of equipment you may never knew existed.