You write a very interesting “history” of the John Deere parts and implement business = firstSouristhen Bottineau. Since I worked as Preventive Maintenance Technician with the US Army Corps of Engineers for 20 years I would have to record parts issues/maintenance on equipment etc at Albeni Falls Dam. At that time they also ran equipment to maintain several campgrounds in the area. And knowing the some of the people he refers to even makes this more interesting .

Another job I had for about 6 months while I was waiting to get on with the goveernent was at Atlas Mine and Mill inSpokane. A Hungarian immigrant had a huge used equipment business. A lot of it was for mining operations inCanadaandSouth America. I had to convince him I knew something about equipment coming from a farm home. Also in our travels I had seen a lot of the highway construction projects setting up the

system signed into law by Pres Eisenhower. I kept his books in such a manner that the accountant assured me if I ever wanted a job inSpokanehe would hire me on the spot. (Thanks to OA Parks and my college accounting etc at the Forestry).

I hope you are going to publish your paper. It makes for interesting history of the area with the change of equipment through the years. Also the way you learned how to fix things. How our parents made us do it ourselves. In my case cooking, canning, sewing. I can see your “book” being read in at least 3 counties there on the Canadian Border of ND but also far and wide as those of us who left that area for various reasons. Most were to find better weather and better job opportunities. In my case, I was a military wife and went were my husband was sent. No, I didn’t go overseas since he was hardly ever on Clark AFB proper and I knew I could not handle the heat. I discovered that with just a fewe days inSoutheast Missouriin the middle of summer and even April and Oct weren’t so good either. Bob was sent to Fairchild AFB(nearSpokane) in 1968 and then spent the next 17 of his 30 + years stationed there at the global headquarters of the US Air Force Survival Training Hdq (SERE Complex)