Hyde Brothers Farm Equipment is celebrating their 85th Anniversary! The company was founded in 1939 by brothers Howard and Jack Hyde, who initially began by trading small equipment including cultivators and ploughs, in a former welding shop. One of their first lines was Rumely-Allis Chalmers tractors. Allis Chalmers would be a staple for the business for some 40 years. They were also selling Oliver ploughs at that time. Allis would soon add a pull-type combine. Hyde Brothers built a store in about 1945-46 on Wellington St. in Hensall across from the railway station. It was 2-storey and approximately 40’ x 70’ and would be home for some 50 years. Sales and Parts were organized upstairs, and service was conducted downstairs. The “60 All Crop” pull-type combine was a popular thresher in its day. During World War II, farmers had to buy a combine to purchase a tractor. This helped keep the production of grains at highest capacities. Alec McMurtrie purchased ’60 All Crop’ combines when they were introduced and traded them in annually, with the trade costing him $100 a year! Having the railroad next door proved handy when equipment was shipped. Tragedy struck the company when Howard passed away in 1948 at the age of 35. His wife Lillian inherited his shares. By the mid 1950’s the business had added a second location in Brussels, and was sometimes referred to as the “Hyde Tractor and Combine Company”. The Brussels store closed in 1960c. In 1957 Lillian remarried and her shares transferred to her children, Jim and Eudora. Jack Hyde died in 1960 and left his shares to his 21 nieces and nephews. Within the year, Jim and Eudora had purchased the shares from their cousins. Under the aggressive leadership of Jim Hyde and Eudora’s husband Robert (Bob) Caldwell the company thrived. An addition was required when the large Gleaner self propelled combines where introduced. “When Allis Chalmers brought out ‘The Gleaner’, I considered it the Cadillac of combines,” said Jim Hyde. “Apparently others felt the same way as many non-Allis Chalmers farmers added one to their line of equipment.” Hyde’s added Versatile in 1976, selling 800 series tractors and the 150 bi-directionals. In 1981 they sold one of the first Versatile 1150 articulated tractors in Canada to James W. Gardiner Farms. This was the largest articulated tractor of its time with 470 h.p. Kinze was added in 1979. Bob’s son, Terry Caldwell, was around the shop from an early age. By the early 1980’s he had joined the company on a permanent basis on the parts counter. Kubota was a very important addition to the business in the early 80’s. 1988 saw the next transition, as Jim Hyde sold his shares to the Caldwell’s. A new location in Rannoch was added in 1987. It operated until the new Hensall facility opened in 2004. In 1994 Terry’s wife Heather joined the fold. HYDE BROTHERS CELEBRATE 85TH ANNIVERSARY! Howard & Lillian Hyde, 1942 1946 building 1st shop. (Howard in pic) Jim Hyde 48 Promotional Supplement Business Profiles | April 2024
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