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Olin's tractor man
Regan Hill photo
Joe Sloan of Olin puts his collection of John Deere tractors on display for about two weeks twice a year: Around the Fourth of July and Labor Day.
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Published: July 4, 2009
Ask Joe Sloan if you can look at his tractors and he'll tell you to take it a step further.
"If you want, you can talk to them," Sloan says of his 25 John Deere tractors, all of which were built between 50 and 79 years ago.
And all of which will talk back to.
"They all run," says Sloan, who has his collection lined up on the front lawn of his Mt. Vernon Church Road home.
To prove it, he walks over to one of the tractors that — to be delicate — appears to be most in need of a paint job (a 1936 model) and starts spinning a round metal gadget on the side of its engine. Sure enough, before long, the tractor is roaring.
"That's called the fly wheel," he explained. "And that's the only way to start it."
How does he keep them running?
"I keep putting gas in them," he jokes, adding, "Well, it takes a little more than that, I guess."
Sloan loves one-liners. He says he keeps his collection in a converted chicken house.
"I used to raise chickens," he says. "Now I raise Deeres."
Sloan then points out that his hometown is in the middle of Carolina. He explains the joke for those not as quick on the uptake. He says that letters O, L, I, and N can be found in the middle of the word "Carolina."
Good one, Joe.
Back to the tractors.
Sloan said a gift from his wife, Jean, got him hooked on the collecting.
"It was that 1952 AR, there," he says pointing it out. "That's the one that got me started in all this."
"If that's true," Jean confesses, "then I created a monster."
Joe and Jean both say that monster is fed by farmers and others who catch wind of the impressive collection.
"He doesn't look for them," Jean said. "They look for him, and they find him. Owners will give him a call and see if he's interested, and a lot of times he is."
It takes Joe about an hour and a half to get the tractors lined up. And that's with a good bit of help from his 13-year-old grandson, Wesley Sloan.
"I've ridden them all," Wesley says with unmitigated pride.
But the Sloans' granddaughter, Karen, will climb on them only when the engine isn't running.
Joe puts the tractors on display for about two weeks twice a year: around the Fourth of July and Labor Day.
He wants everyone to come out and enjoy them as much as he does and encourages visitors.
"How about this Sunday morning?" he said, "Folks go to church and them come out and see us."
And maybe strike up a conversation with a vintage tractor.
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