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D-19 Restoration

In 2006, my dad, brother and I decided to take up a new hobby. Dad thought that getting some old tractors and machinery might be fun, and we could use them to make some small food plots near our woods. He bought a 1962 Allis-Chalmers D-17 Series II and, although we never really intended to, we started to… Continue reading D-19 Restoration

Allis-Chalmers

Allis-Chalmers Acquisitions & Growth

Here is a list of the factories and firms across the world that made up Allis-Chalmers and the vast amount products they made. This can be found in Norm Swinford's book Allis-Chalmers Construction Machinery & Industrial  Equipment. I think there might be a couple more that should be added, but these are the ones that… Continue reading Allis-Chalmers Acquisitions & Growth

Breweries

The Peoples Brewing Company: America’s First Black Owned Brewery

In one of my earlier posts I talked about the Oshkosh Brewing Company, but there was another great brewery in my college town that last a few years longer than Oshkosh Brewing Company. The Peoples Brewing Company made history when it became the first brewery in the country to be owned by a Black man, an… Continue reading The Peoples Brewing Company: America’s First Black Owned Brewery

Allis-Chalmers

Allis-Chalmers Tractor Plant

Ever wonder what the Allis-Chalmers tractor assembly line looked like? Bet you wish you could have taken a tour of it when the plant was humming with activity and churning out the beautiful Persian Orange tractors they were known for. Let's take a tour back in time..   We will begin our tour with a… Continue reading Allis-Chalmers Tractor Plant

Breweries

Oshkosh Brewing Company

Oshkosh Brewing CompanyThe Oshkosh Brewing Company was a brewery formally headquartered in my college town of Oshkosh, Wisconsin. It was only until recently that I learned of this brewery and began to uncover some of the company's history. Sadly, the old brewery fell victim to the wrecking ball in 1986 destroying the physical evidence of the company's existence. Only one of the… Continue reading Oshkosh Brewing Company

Allis-Chalmers

#2 Boston Works

The second Allis-Chalmers complex to be examined is the Boston Works in Boston, Massachusetts. This was one of the many other factories part of the Allis-Chalmers firm. In 1931, Allis-Chalmers Mfg. Co. acquired the American Brown Boveri Electric Corporation and the Condit Electric Mfg. Co., together both specialized in turbines, steam engines, generators, switch gears and transformers. Allis-Chalmers… Continue reading #2 Boston Works

Allis-Chalmers

Allis-Chalmers Factory Complexes

I live and breathe Allis-Chalmers history. The story of the industrial giant, which was once headquartered in Milwaukee, has attracted many other followers and enthusiasts like myself. The story of the company’s achievements and innovation is worth studying. I have set out to locate and document the locations of some of the factories, ones that… Continue reading Allis-Chalmers Factory Complexes

Allis-Chalmers

“Makeup for a Tractor”

"Makeup for a Tractor" WE of Allis-Chalmers-March/April 1946 It takes four minutes for two men armed with spray guns to put on a tractor’s “makeup.” The smooth, shiny coat of Persian orange paint the spraymen apply makes A-C tractors look like slabs of sunshine as they roll off the West Allis assembly line at the… Continue reading “Makeup for a Tractor”

Breweries

My Visit to Schlitz Brewery

Last December my fiancée and I embarked on a most awesome adventure to the former Jos. Schlitz Brewing Company. The old complex is located just off Highway 145 on N. Martin Luther King Drive near downtown Milwaukee. Though many of the old structures associated with the brewery in its operating days have been demolished, quite… Continue reading My Visit to Schlitz Brewery