The Green Girl weekly web column by Brenda Kruse

June 3, 2002

Formerly on FieldReporter.com

The Big D does Deere Day in a big way
Deere Day in Dallas — Part 1 of 4: Prep & Planning

Looking back more than 40 years, few folks alive today recall the big Deere event in the big "D" — better known as "Deere Day in Dallas" on August 30, 1960.

It was the day Deere launched its "New Generation of Power" tractor line to dealers and media from the U.S., Canada, and 19 other countries.

The event was significant on several levels, both internally for the company and the farm equipment manufacturing industry, as well as externally for Deere’s dealers and farmer customers.

First of all, it signaled the end of the famed two-cylinder era and marked the first multi-cylinder design from Deere. Engineers from the Waterloo factory had been working secretly for seven years to develop the new models. Obviously, Deere wanted to maximize its costly R&D investment with a major unveiling and media splash.

Secondly, the product launch itself was the "biggest extravaganza that Deere had (or has since) been involved with," so says Bill Malone, VP and General Manager of the Dallas Branch who helped host the whole event. In fact, it was the first time in modern Deere history that the entire sales force had been gathered under one roof at the same time.

The day Deere descended upon Dallas was an opulently organized, extremely efficient and elaborate effort that involved the largest industrial air-lift in history, a diamond-studded tractor displayed inside the high-brow Neiman-Marcus store, a Hollywood-style ice skating show, and five full cows worth of barbecue.

The festivities were for 6,000-plus dealers and media personnel who were flown in from all over the globe to Love Field in Dallas and herded around town like the famous longhorns of the Lone Star state.

According to one account, the event took about 18 months to plan and cost more than $1 million to pull off.

Prior to 1960, most major product launches were hosted by the tractor factory in Waterloo or Dubuque, or maybe at Deere headquarters in Moline.

These centrally located Midwestern cities made sense for dealers from coast to coast who had to travel there, as well as for the company itself. Other times, Deere took smaller traveling shows on the road to various regional locations where area dealers gathered.

But Deere needed to do things different for this product launch. It had to be bigger and better than anything ever done before. And as it turned out…ever since!

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As the story goes, Lyle Cherry, the sales manager for Waterloo Works (and father of Jack Cherry, Two-Cylinder Club founder), called around to the company’s branch managers asking if anyone would be willing to host it.

By the time Bill Malone at the Dallas Branch was contacted, several others had told Cherry no thanks. But Malone wanted the job. In fact, he practically begged for it.

After securing the cooperation of a regional point person, Deere supported its decision to go with Dallas on other key credentials that would make this event possible.

The first request was for a city that could host 6,500 people in first-class hotel rooms. Dallas had just completed the massive Statler Hilton hotel and several others in the downtown area.

Secondly, the city needed an air-conditioned auditorium and facilities for showing off the new tractors to more than 6,000 people at once. The Dallas Memorial Auditorium, Cotton Bowl stadium, and the Livestock Coliseum at the State Fairgrounds would suit Deere’s needs.

Third, the airport not only needed to be top-notch, with quality airplane repair capabilities and the capacity to handle numerous flights from many carriers.

It also had to be close to town to eliminate long shuttle times. Dallas’ Love Field was fully equipped flight-wise and just a 20-minute bus ride from the tarmac to downtown hotels.

Fourth, the city needed to have a caterer ready to feed the masses.

World-famous caterer and BBQ king Walter Jetton of Ft. Worth was good enough for later President Lyndon Johnson so he’d suffice for John Deere too.

Last but certainly not least, the city needed to have good weather. A 5-year study of patterns for late August proved Dallas fit the bill with warm temperatures and clear skies. The company even had an allergist on hand should anyone be bothered by the Texas dust.

So for almost two full years, Deere executives shuttled back and forth from Moline headquarters or the Waterloo factory to Dallas for planning meetings. Malone says the company reserved an entire floor of the Statler Hilton hotel for the duration of the planning.

Text © 2002 Brenda Kruse. Photos by Brenda Kruse unless otherwise noted.