FIELD TRIP Dave McEachren of Glencoe is a retired farmer, a 20-year veteran captain at the Southwest Middlesex Fire Department, a farm memorabilia enthusiast, and as of August 2023, the operator of a John Deere Museum: The McEachren Collection @ Forty-87. McEachren began collecting as a child after being inspired at the local fair. “I was exposed to a farm toy show at our fair in Glencoe,” he says. “A couple neighbours who were my age had a display of farm toys … and the next day, my mom took me to our local John Deere dealership.” He purchased his first scale model tractor there: A John Deere Waterloo Boy. “I took it home and got it out of the box. It was the first and last box I threw away,” he laughs. “The boxes create about five to six times the amount of value that the actual toy does!” John Deere was special to McEachren, as that was the brand of choice on his home farm. “Our family farmed with green and yellow equipment, and I had such fond memories as a kid. When I was 10 years old, I started collecting toys and started keeping them for bigger reasons. It evolved from there.” As the years went on, McEachren’s collection expanded to other John Deere memorabilia: Sales literature, paper advertising, and when he turned 18, tractors. “The first one I bought was a 430 – it’s a two-cylinder tractor. It’s still in the condition that I bought it in – in parts on the shelf! Someday I will restore it and it’ll drive again, but I’ve had too much fun buying more that are already restored, taking them to shows, and driving them around.” Some items in the collection may be surprising – like bicycles and barbeques. “As a kid, we had a John Deere barbeque and cooked on it. We had a large beef operation, so it got used well in those days. It lasted a long time – longer than any barbeques my dad has had since. When it came time to replace it, I tucked it away in the barn.” McEachren has also sat on the board of a couple of collector clubs: The 1st Ontario Two-Cylinder Club and a U.S.-based John Deere club called Classic Green. This past August, The McEachren Collection @ Forty-87 opened their doors to the public. The museum houses McEachren’s personal collection of toys, tractors, and artifacts and shares the story of the John Deere company. “It’s been a long-time thought,” McEachren tells Better Farming. “It probably started when I was 16 or 18, when I outgrew a room in the house where they were being displayed in. “We moved into an old barn onto my parents’ property and by the time we renovated, I began to outgrow it. I’ve been thinking about designs (for the museum) for almost 25 years,” he explains. “I had only recently been able to get to a point in my mind to build the building.” “It’s a work-in-progress,” McEachren says. “The building will only store half of my collection at best, so I’ll be changing displays and rotating things through. “The most fun aspect of the building is there’s a full-size tractor inside and people wonder how it got there … and they’ll never know!” he laughs. “The biggest reaction when they walk in is ‘Wow!’ It’s not what people expect when they step in. It looks like a drive shed from the outside, but it’s tastefully decorated on the inside and looks just like a museum. It’s great to watch their reaction when they get inside.” Since opening the doors, McEachren has seen people visit from as far away as Kansas, Illinois, and Wisconsin. The McEachren Collection @ Forty-87 is open by appointment. BF Dave McEachren with one of his tractors in the Glencoe Parade.
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