“So, in ’79, we bought our first John Deere tractor: an 8440, 4-wheel drive, with a six-bottom plow,” he said. “That pretty much put us in the John Deere business, and that’s all we’ve had since, as far as farming.” While their farming pursuits were covered by John Deere, their play pursuits were still open for opportunities. “A s far as play ing w i t h t hese antique tractors and stuf f, I like the Oliver,” Gilliam said. “I’ve got some John Deere, but the Oliver: I love them.” When it came to Gilliam’s interest in the collecting world, his passions borrowed heavily from his youth, when his dad had all of the Oliver brochures around the office. “We never had any front-wheel assist tractors, and he never sold any t hing like t ha t , so I al way s looked at the stuf f, and just like look ing at t he Sear s Chr is t mas catalog for toys—man, that is so cool,” he said. As successful farming operations afforded him the opportunity, Gilliam said he started to pick up some of those tractors he had lusted after as a kid thumbing through the Oliver catalogs. He said it was the big horsepower tractors, like the 990 and 98 Olivers, that were especially impressive to him as a kid, and in his adult years, it was those muscle tractors that continued to grab his attention. “They’re just impressive tractors,” he said. “As a kid, you never felt like you had enough horsepower under your seat, and in later years, when we started getting into John Deeres, they felt good.” While he’s enjoyed piecing together his collection, Gilliam said everything has it’s time, and now is the time to part with his tractors. “While I can halfway get this stuff together and get it hauled north, it just felt like this is the time to do it,” he said. “We’re looking at a lot of work here, but I think it’s going to be my best decision. 72 // MECUM.COM
