Memories Restored: Sonny Beck’s first John Deere tractor

ATLANTA, Ind. — The first tractor that you learned to drive. Farming with your dad. The wet spring of 1974. The first piece of equipment you bought for your farm.

These memories may resonate with many, but they have a different meaning for Sonny Beck — they all revolve around a pivotal purchase that still serves a purpose on the farm today.

For Beck, the first tractor he learned to drive was a 1938 International Harvester Farmall F-20. He farmed with his dad, Francis, who was partial to red paint on his equipment.

It wasn’t until the 1970s that the Beck family looked into purchasing a different color. John Deere was becoming more and more popular, growing from a 2-cylinder to a 6-cylinder with more horsepower.

In the very wet spring of 1974, the Beck family purchased their first piece of green equipment and started operating it at their headquarters in Atlanta, Indiana. It was a brand new 1974 John Deere 4430 with a cab, 125 horsepower, and a 6.6L 6-cylinder engine.

The plan was to use it to work the ground down with their 33-foot S-Tine field cultivator ahead of the planter.

Francis and Sonny were able to get a little corn planted in April, but due to wet field conditions, most of the crop was put in the ground at the beginning of June. They installed additional lights on the new tractor to be able to plant later into the night.

After 34 years and over 10,000 hours, the tractor was retired to mowing ditch banks. After enduring a strong storm that buried it under an old shed, the cab was damaged and needed repair.

Five years later, when mowing a roadside on that same farm where the shed collapsed, Sonny’s 1974 John Deere 4430 caught fire and burnt down to the frame.

While most people would find no life left in a tractor that was burnt to a crisp, Beck showed no signs of giving up on his first John Deere tractor.

“Everybody used it,” he explained. “It was one of the first automatic transmission tractors with a straight gear shift lever versus a quad transmission, so anyone could drive it. I didn’t just want to junk it.”

With Sonny’s approval, Beck’s shop manager, Blair Dunn, and his crew pulled the 4430 into the shop in the winter of 2013 and prepared to restore it.

Dunn and the crew had to start from scratch. They needed a donor tractor to pull parts from, and the one they found was inconveniently located two states away in Iowa.

Having trouble finding a ride for the donor, Dunn hooked up his truck and trailer and drove to get it himself.

“It really became a passion for us to restore it,” he added. “Adam Fernung (one of the main employees to work on the tractor) said it best — we’re very grateful for everything the Beck family does for us, and we wanted our work on this tractor to reflect that appreciation.”

Today, the tractor is on display at Beck’s headquarters in Atlanta for customers and prospects to view during facility tours. But more importantly, it serves as a piece of history to the Beck family, their story and the memories behind it.

The tractor will leave home temporarily to visit Half Century of Progress, but will forever remain a part of Beck’s history as its memories are worth far more than what it is worth today.