The 1955 That Came Home

On Halloween Day in 1983, a White Oliver 1955 came to Jon’s family farm. His dad purchased the tractor used from Vahrenberg Implement in Higginsville, Missouri. Jon was 9 years old at the time and remembers the tractor coming home.

The 1955 was a early 1970 model and was the 129th one built. It was also the first of 10 White Oliver tractors sold by Vahrenberg Implement. According to the service records, the tractor had received a new clutch in June 1983 at 3,096 hours. The original owner later traded it for a White 2-135, which eventually gave Jon’s family the opportunity to buy it.

The 1955 was put to work on the farm. It was used for planting, pulling an M&W gravity wagon and running a grain auger. During the years Jon’s family owned it, they added roughly 500 hours to the tractor. It was even involved in something a little unusual. Around 1986, the top of the cab was used as a platform for a cameraman while filming a commercial for Congressman Ike Skelton.

There were also a few things about the tractor that made it easy for Jon to remember. One was the blue shag carpet that had been installed on the floor of the cab to help muffle the noise. At the time, it was simply a practical addition. Years later, it would help Jon identify the tractor.

In 1988 or 1989, Jon’s family sold the 1955 to an older gentleman who used it on a large round baler. Jon was about 14 years old and still remembers watching the tractor being loaded onto a homemade trailer and leaving the farm. His dad later regretted selling the 1955. Over the years, he would talk about wishing they could find the tractor again. Jon’s dad passed away in 2016, and the 1955 remained somewhere out there.

Then, about 34 years after the tractor had been sold, Jon was looking through Facebook Marketplace one Thursday morning before work when a White Oliver 1955 caught his attention. Something about the tractor looked familiar.

Jon contacted the seller and asked a couple of questions. Did the tractor have blue shag carpet in the cab? Did it originally come from Vahrenberg Implement? The answer to both was yes. Jon then checked the VIN, and that confirmed it. This was the same 1955 his family had owned years earlier. A deal was made, and the next day they went to pick it up.

After 34 years, the tractor had about 4,622 hours showing on the tach. Some of the blue shag carpet was still in the cab, and many of the other details Jon remembered were still there. The tractor remained very original, including its warning stickers and most of the plastic inserts in the frame and grille.

Today, the White Oliver 1955 is back on Jon’s family farm. It even sits in the same spot in the same shed where it was parked during the family’s first years of ownership. There are plans for the 1955 to be made into a toy tractor as well, adding another piece to a story that started when 9-year-old Jon watched his dad bring home a tractor on Halloween Day in 1983.

Jon’s dad always hoped they would find the old 1955 again. It took 34 years, but the tractor eventually found its way back to the farm.

The 1955 That Came Home

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