Morrison Truck and Tractor

Morrison Truck and Tractor

History Timeline 1937 – 1967

In honor of Cameron Coffman Morrison and Mildred Gertrude Davis Morrison Morrison Truck and Tractor

History Timeline 1937 - 1967

Compiled by Carl Crabtree, Grandson of Cameron and Mildred Morrison (2008, updated 2010 and 2017)

Source: Odessa Democrat and later The Odessan newspapers.

July 30, 1937 – “New Firm to Odessa. Cameron Morrison and Richard Fieth of Higginsville will open an implement shop in the Thomas building (formerly occupied by Thomas Motor Co.) The new firm will begin operation August 1, handling the International line of farm machinery. Mr. Morrison is the son of Mr. and Mrs. E.P. Morrison near here and is an OHS graduate, class of 1921.” Article is found at the bottom of the front page. (Cameron’s age was 36). Frank Morrison, Cameron’s son, recently recalled that a former implement shop was operated by Harvey See and had been abandoned, probably because of the depression. Mr. See’s implement shop was located on the south side of Cobb Street between First and Second Street just north of the present day downtown area. (It was also thought that Mr. See had a shop in Bates City as well.) Morrison and Fieth operated from this building in Odessa for a short time before moving to the “Thomas Building” as mentioned above. In the mid 1930s, newspaper ads were placed for “McCormick Deering Farm Machinery” by Harvey See (For example, see May 18, 1934 & May 1, 1936 issues of the Odessa Democrat).

October 15, 1937 – Richard Fieth of Fieth and Morrison Implement is having a farm sale on October 19. Location is 2 ½ miles south of Higginsville on the former Mrs. August Hader farm. (Small article on front page and sale bill on page 7))

December 24, 1937 – Christmas ad in paper: “Christmas is just one occasion when we take the opportunity of greeting you! Our thoughts are for your comfort and satisfaction the other 364 days too! Merry Christmas.” Fieth and Morrison Implement Co. Ph # 87

April 29, 1938 - Ad in Odessa Democrat. Used Farm Machinery For Sale… Fieth and Morrison

May 27, 1938 – Article in Odessa Democrat. Frank 6^th grade & Carmen in the 7^th grade

April 7, 1939 – Used machinery Ad…Farmall Regular, rebuilt, guaranteed like new. Fieth & Morrison

June 9, 16 & 23, 1939 – Speed Queen, “for BIG family washings…” Fieth and Morrison Implement Company

August 28, 1939 – Preview the new small Farmall with “Cult-vision” at our store… Fieth and Morrison Implement Company (picture source at left: Internet)

Sept 22, 1939 – Large add for Speed Queen Washer, sold to the highest bidder (sealed bids)… Fieth and Morrison (The ad seems to be a type of sales promotion)

October 6, 1939 – Columbia Red Top Grain Bins and Stock Tanks… Fieth and Morrison

December 15 & 22, 1939 – Speed Queen sale, $69.95… Fieth and Morrison

December 12, 1941 – on front page: “Mrs. Morrison is Lodge Leader Here Elected Most Excellent Chief of Pythian Sisters.”

In personals: Mr. and Mrs. C.C. Morrison and children Sarah Lee, Mariena, and Ronald spent Saturday at the home of R.C. Colson’s in St Louis and children Carmen and Frank stayed several days.

January 2, 1942 – Ad reads: “To my farmer friends: Owing to shortage of materials and parts being uncertain to get, I have ordered an extra large stock and will try to take care of your needs the best possible. This stock calls for an increased amount cash. To take care of this I must ask you one and all to pay cash for all parts, twine, and labor… You may still buy machines on Income Purchase Plan. THANKS FOR YOUR PATRONAGE!” Morrison Implement Company (Note to name change to Morrison Implement)

January 9, 1942 – Large public sale bill, “Thursday Jan. 15” of Howard O. McFadden on the “…CC Morrison farm 2 1/2 miles northeast of the junction of No. 13 and No. 40 Highways 6 miles south of Higginsville...” It appears there was an increase of public sales of farm machinery during this time, many due to men leaving for the war.

February 18, 1942 – Sale bill for farm equipment, tools, and animals by Mrs. B.F. Davis. Mr. & Mrs. Davis were the parents of Mildred Davis Morrison, C.C. Morrison’s wife. B.F. Davis died June 18, 1942.

March 27, 1942 – Sale ad for McCormick-Deering Cream Separator... “Best looking, cleanest-skimming machine on the market.” Morrison Implement Co.

December 25, 1942 – Wishing you a Merry Christmas in the good old American way. Morrison Implement Co.

December 24, 1943 – A Merry American Christmas. Morrison Implement Co.

March 12, 1943 – Ad “Announcement! In line with the established policy of offerings for the HIGHEST QUALITY merchandise, we are pleased to announce our appointment as distributor for: Genuine water proof Alemite gun grease, genuine Alemite gear grease, and genuine Alemite special greases… prolong the life of those ‘hard to get’ implements.” Morrison Implement Co.

October, 1944 – Small ad in the paper, “’Wanted to Buy’ Good alfalfa, clover, and lespedeza seed, A.C.Tracy, Headquarters at Morrison Implement Co. Phone 51”

December 22, 1944 – Christmas ad in paper, “The American Eagle Watches Over An American Christmas…” Morrison Implement Co.

1945 – Morrison Implement was included in a series of large half-page ads of community businesses supporting the war effort.

March 30, 1945 – “Mr. and Mrs. C.C. Morrison received a letter from their son, Franklin Morrison F2/c, which was written March 12^th, and stated that at that time he was crossing the international date line in the Pacific.”

July 6, 1945 – Series of International Harvester ads over the next few months relating to producing crops for the “worn torn world” with Morrison Implement signed at the bottom.

December 21, 1945 – Christmas ad in paper, NOTE THE NAME CHANGE Morrison Truck and Tractor

May 17, 1946 – Letter from International Harvester Corporation to farmers, “The strike is over but some materials are still hard to find (copper and sheet metal)… We are making every effort to end the shortage of parts and machines…”

July 11, 1947 – Ad for the Farmal Cub (See Ad to left from The Odessan)

July 29, 1947 – Ad for the new International Harvester Freezer! (See ad at right, from The Odessan)

August 1, 1947 – Statement to customers from International Harvester Company about inflated prices, supply and demand of farm tractors, trucks, and other equipment, and pricing policies (see ad at right, from The Odessan).

December 19, 1947 – Speed Queen Ringer Washers for sale at $99.95.

December 26, 1947 – Ad inviting farmers to schedule early service for to their tractors, trucks, and equipment (see ad at right, from The Odessan).

Sept 30, 1949 - C.C. Morrison’s father Eugene died in a truck accident.

January 9, 1953 – Special one day sale: “American Woven Wire, 20 rod roll, $18.75” Morrison Truck and Tractor.

April 10, 1953 – Quarter page ad about International Trucks sold at Morrison Truck and Tractor. For several weeks during this time period, a variety of truck ads were placed in the paper, trucks of all sizes and uses. The ads appear to be from the International Corporation and at the bottom titled “See the New Internationals at Morrison Truck and Tractor.”

May 23, 1953 – Add promoting International McCormick mower (hay/sickle mower) with generic picture of an “M” Farmall cutting hay.

February 8, 1957 – Series of International Truck ads over the next few weeks in The Odessan newspaper (below left).

June 14, 1957 – Several ads over the next few weeks selling Whirlpool Appliances.

May 11, 1961 – Ad in paper “Symbol of service in conserving soil…” Morrison Truck and Tractor (still phone #87). The paper this week has many ads from local farm related business on the theme conserving soil.

December 21, 1961 – Christmas ad in paper: “Greetings To You. An old fashion wish that is always new, Merry Christmas.” Morrison Truck and Tractor.

December 23, 1965 – Christmas ad “Word of thanks to our loyal customers…” Morrison Truck and Tractor Ph 633-4912 (Note phone number change)

January 20, 1966 – Ad promoting the International Cub Lo-Boy tractor for yard and garden work.

March 10, 1966 – Ad: “Attend an evening smoker[1] March 17. Featuring a 656 Farmall, 816 mower-conditioner-windrower, 27 hay baler, 105 combine, and a 234 Corn Harvester. Refreshments will be served after the meeting.” [1] An informal social gathering for men – American Heritage Dictionary

October 20, 1966 – Ad for light duty International pick-up trucks similar to below. Morrison Truck and Tractor. (Picture source: Internet)

December 8, 1966 – Article (The Odessan) on front page (including picture) and ad in the paper announcing the merger of Morrison Truck and Tractor and Robey Truck and Tractor of Higginsville as of December 1^st. The Odessa location will continue to handle parts and service work, company headquarters will be in Higginsville. Officers: C.C. Morrison; president, Leonard Robey; Chairman of the Board, Dick Crews; General Manager, Ron Morrison; Sales Manager of Farm Machinery, Herbert Fieth; Sales Manger of Trucks, Clifford Maring; Service Manager. It is told that International Harvester Corporation wanted only one dealership per county.

December 22, 1966 – Christmas ad, Lafayette County Truck and Tractor.

March 1967 – Several advertisements for International machinery, Lafayette County Truck and Tractor.

July 13, 1967 – Sale Bill announcing C.C. Morrison’s retirement and sale of all machinery, equipment, tools, and office supplies. Sale held July 22, 1967. Sale bill signed Morrison Truck and Tractor. Auctioneers were Glen LaRue, Jack Hutchison, and George McFadden. The sale extended into the next day because there were so many items to sell. (Cameron was a few days shy of 66 years old)

See Sale Bill at end.

Newspaper ad about 1965

Click here: Morrison Truck and Tractor in Pictures

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Descendants of Cameron Coffman Morrison and Mildred Gertrude Davis

CAMERON COFFMAN⁷ MORRISON (EUGENE POAGE⁶, DAVID COFFMAN⁵, ARCHIBALD⁴, ARCHIBALD³, JOHN², ROBERT¹) was born July 25, 1901 in Odessa, MO, and died January 10, 1986 in Okeechobee, FL. He married MILDRED GERTRUDE DAVIS October 01, 1922 in First Christian Church, Odessa MO, daughter of BENJAMIN DAVIS³ and SARAH JORDAN (James AlexanderDavis², James A. Davis ¹). Mildred was born June 08, 1904 in Odessa, MO, and died February 17, 1979 in KU Medical Center, Kansas.

Children of CAMERON MORRISON and MILDRED DAVIS are:

i. CARMEN MORRISON, b. July 25, 1925, Odessa, MO

ii. FRANKLIN EUGENE MORRISON, b. September 15, 1926; d. January 27, 2016. Buried at Arlington National Cemetery on September 20, 2016

iii. SARAH LEE MORRISON, b. December 06, 1933; d. May 11, 2000, Medical Center of Independence, Independence, MO;

iv.MARIENA MORRISON, b. April 06, 1936, Higginsville, MO;

v. RONALD DAVID MORRISON, b. August 07, 1941, Odessa, MO;

Cameron and Mildred, early 1930s?

Cameron early 1980s

Notes and memories:

I do have many memories of grandpa's store. Dad would take us (Dan & Carl) to town just about every Saturday morning. We would always stop by and play on the Cub Cadets in the front showroom and occasionally during summer we could cross the street and play on the big tractors. I used to have to help you even get on the Cub Cadets you were still pretty little. Of coarse we always visited with all Granddads’ friends that always hung around having coffee on Saturday mornings. Between them and granddad we would get several handfuls of peanuts from the vending machine (old bubble gum machine for peanuts), and usually a bottle of root beer from the cooler. If I am not mistaken I believe it was Shorty Alumbaugh that would slip us a few sugar cubes when nobody was looking, they were up on too high of a shelf for us to reach and Dad wouldn't let us have them, Granddad always said "you boys don't need sugar cubes". Of coarse he was smiling kind of strange when he said it, pretty sure he was wise to it and humoring Dad. Hadn't thought about those days in a while, thanks.

--Dan Crabtree (3-08) b.1956, Son of Sarah Lee Morrison b. 1933 d. 2000

I was 6 years old in 1966, so I do not have a huge amount of memories. I do remember being told not to turn the steering wheel on the tractors on display in the sales area because it left tire marks on the floor. I also remember getting a handful of peanuts from the machine. The coffee cups that were in boiling water on top of the stove fascinated me. When someone was finished drinking coffee, they would drop it in so it would be ready for the next person, I suppose. I also remember the day we drove the white 1966 International to town to pick-up the “Number 10” grain drill dad had bought.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, I worked for the Lafayette County Soil Conservation Service and later the Agriculture Stabilization and Conservation Service office in Higginsville. This job required me to travel around the county helping lay out terraces, waterways, measuring crops, and measuring grain in bins. Many of the older farmers I came in contact with knew grandpa and held high respect for him and his business. I could always depend on the Morrison name to bring a sense of trust with the farmers I served.

--Carl Crabtree (3-08) b.1959, Son of Sarah Lee Morrison b. 1933 d. 2000

My father Earl Crabtree, mother Mildred, and I moved to a farm east of Odessa in1939. I was 8 years old. After inquiring at Morrison Truck and Tractor about a tractor, we were directed to a “B” Farmall a farmer had for sale that lived northeast of Odessa. My father purchased that tractor and we used it around our farm for several years. In 1950, my dad traded the “B” for a brand new “C” Farmall, 7’ sickle mower, and two row cultivator. The “C” (#68059) is still running well today. At present the “C” has a Woods 5’ belly mower and is used to mow around the farm home. It was overhauled once in the 1970s. It was upgraded to a “Supper C” at that time with slightly different pistons, sleeves, and the addition of a water pump. The original “C” Farmalls did not have a water pump and used a gravity flow system through the radiator. In the 1980s a gear in the transmission was chipped due to spinning the tires trying to get unstuck in snow. In the 1990s, the hydraulic pump was overhauled. Last year, it received its first new set of rear tires. The previous rear tires, Firestones, were original when the tractor was new. In the winter of 2014-15, the Crabtree boys gave the engine it's second overhaul.

--Robert Crabtree (5-08) b. 1931, Husband to Sarah Lee Morrison b. 1933 d. 2000

The Bumgarner girls made monthly trips from Jeff City to see the Morrison family when we were young. We often drove to Odessa on Friday nights. We were always so excited (and loud) when we first saw "Granddad's lights" as we approached town! We rarely visited Odessa without driving by Grandpa’s store. I was actually in the store maybe once or twice. It seems like the floor was concrete, and there was a chest type soda machine near the front door. I recall being surprised to see my relatives behind the counter! I do recall going to the Missouri State Fair where Grandma & Grandpa had the Morrison Truck & Tractor display. The grown ups were in lawn chairs under a cabana-like tent with the coolers. The kids enjoyed playing on the Cub Cadets outside the shelter. It was hot, and Mom was so worried about sunburns. I can visualize the giant Ferris wheel in the background while pretending to drive a little tractor!

--Teresa (Bumgarner) James 3-08 b. 1954, Daughter of Mariena Morrison

I was always proud of red tractors and red machinery because my Dad was in the IH business. The store was not a place I was taken very often while growing up. Mother would drive by and I could run in with a message or sit in the car. When I did get to go in I was excited. I remember Bob Morehead who worked there forever. I admired Dick (Crews) so much and always thrilled when he was in the store.

I was not allowed to go into the shop area where they worked on the machinery. Daddy would always say I would get hurt. I do remember looking through the doorway.

I was fascinated with the sweeping compound swept around with a big broom. It had an odor and I guess the mixture kept the dust down. Bob Morehead moved slowly as he swept the floor. The big broom would be propped against the wall when not in use.

When I was probably 12, I had a new long wool winter coat. I was in the store and it was a very cold Missouri day. I backed up close to the stove and I think it was an oil heater/stove. When I walked away from the stove, the back of my coat had a big hole burnt in it. I was quite upset but Mother assured me it could be fixed. She cut the coat bottom off and I had a new finger tip length winter coat.

My sisters, Carmen and Sarah Lee, were both employed at the store at some time. They did secretarial things and I was always impressed with their skills. One time when Sarah Lee was going to be away, I got to go to the store and sit at her desk area. I felt very important. My main responsibility was to answer the phone. Dick gave me some little things to do. One was a parts order form and it became evident I knew little about the items listed and quantity/weight/etc. The order form was not filled out correctly. This was the only time I got to sit in for my sister at the store.

I was proud of my Dad and the business he had. He worked long hours six days a week. He provided well for our family. When Daddy retired, I really got to know him. I enjoyed those years and still love to hear stories about Morrison Truck & Tractor.

--Mariena Morrison Webb (4-08) b. 1936. Daughter of Cameron and Mildred Morrison

I am the oldest of five children, born to Cameron and Mildred Morrison, an International Harvester dealer and owner of Morrison Truck and Tractor Inc. in Odessa, MO

In 1943, after graduating from high school, I went to work for my dad. At that time, the parts department was just thrown in bins. Memory was the only way parts were found: a very poor system.

It was this time a perpetual inventory was formed. I made a file of cards with each part number listed on the card, how many of each number we wanted to carry, the name of each part number, and did an inventory of all parts.

Each day I would post how many new parts came in, how many parts were sold the day before and ordered what we needed from the file. I enjoyed doing this and also taught several other dealers how it worked.

I also waited on customers and learned much about machinery. One of the greatest rewards working for my dad, which was over seven years, was meeting so many customers, mostly farmers. They were great.

--Carmen Morrison Crews (5-08) b. 1925. Daughter of Cameron and Mildred Morrison.

Morrison Truck & Tractor, Odessa, MO:

A Son and Grandson Remembers

Thanks for this opportunity to recall growing up in Odessa, Missouri, where my grandfather, Cameron Coffman Morrison, owned and operated the International Harvester Co. dealership, Morrison Truck & Tractor. It was a family operation. My father, Richard Lee Crews, who married Carmen G. Morrison on Oct. 6, 1946, worked for more than two decades at “The Store”, as we called it.

Carmen, the eldest of five children of C.C. and Mildred (Davis) Morrison, and Richard graduated in the Odessa High School class of 1943. Richard served in World War II, and returned to Odessa to marry Carmen and join the staff at Morrison Truck & Tractor.

I was born Feb. 27, 1951, in Dr. W.E. Martin’s office on Second Street in downtown Odessa. My earliest recollection of Morrison Truck & Tractor was as a youngster visiting my dad and my grandmother and grandfather and relatives and other employees at The Store. As others have remembered, I’d often get a bottle of Coca-Cola from the vending machine and grab a handful of salted peanuts from the peanut machine (I can’t remember if the peanuts cost a penny or a nickel per turn of the handle). The Coke and peanuts mixed well in the glass Coke bottle …. a tasty treat!

Being the oldest grandchild of C.C. and Mildred, I was fortunate to live just a block away from their three-story home at 201 East Orchard Street. Our house was at 305 East Orchard. Mom and dad built the house in 1952 (until then we had lived in an apartment near the Odessa Ice Cream Factory, near First and Dryden Streets). It was an easy stroll down the Orchard Street sidewalk, lined with catalpa trees, to my grandparents’ home, and I remember many visits and family gatherings there. The Morrison home was a block southeast of the old High School, and I’d walk past my grandparents’ home to school during my seventh to ninth-grade years, before a new high school was opened in 1967 on the southwest side of town.

My dad managed the parts department for Morrison Truck & Tractor. The following recollections are varied as I let my mind wander about those days of the late 1950s until my grandfather retired in 1967, and a three-day auction closed The Store’s final chapter and its more than 30-year history. I remember:

n The buildings …. The main building with a customer area inside the front door (sturdy wooden chairs lined one wall for customers, farmers, and even some loafers), a tall counter where customers ordered parts or requested equipment repairs, behind the counter were rows and rows of parts bins (I would climb on those bins on occasion). The front door of the building was exactly on the corner of Third and Mason Streets. Walk into the front door, head straight for the parts counter, then to the left was a long, low desk where bookkeeping and parts ordering were conducted (My grandmother Mildred did some bookkeeping at The Store, as did my Aunt Sarah Lee and my mother at times.). C.C. had an office in the left corner of the building to the back of the bookkeeping “department”, and his office included a desk (more on that later). Walk into the front door, and angle to the right, and often there were displays of small equipment (maybe a Cub Cadet garden tractor, McCulloch chain saws, International Harvester home freezers, information brochures describing IHC equipment). There was a water cooler (I remember asking mom or dad to lift me up for a drink), also the Coke machine. And, near the Coke machine was a door that opened into the service department. The door was also the route to the bathroom, a one-holer with a sink and a towel holder (pull once or twice on the roll of cloth towels to dry your hands). A towel service would stop by The Store every so often to pick up used towel rolls. Also, red rags were used by the mechanics in the shop. A cleaning service picked up soiled rags and delivered clean rags on a regular basis.

n The service department had two large garage-type overhead doors and, I think, space for at least four “service bays”. Mechanics with their own tools and tool boxes often had one, two or more IH tractors torn down, overhauling their engines or performing some other service on tractors or other equipment. In the west portion of the service department, chainsaws were repaired. My dad did some chainsaw repairs among his duties. There was lots of equipment …. vises and electric grinders attached to workbenches, many hand tools, wrenches, pliers, screwdrivers, hammers, grease guns, long hard-rubber hoses with nozzles and handles hooked to an air compressor used to blow dirt and grit from equipment parts. (I played with all this equipment!) The floor of the service department was concrete, but it was black and oily from constant spills or mud brought inside on equipment tires. I would sometimes help scrape the floors or sweep the floors in the late afternoon. The floors were swept with a cleaning compound that was scattered on the oil puddles and dirt. I still remember the smell of that cleaning compound. Sweeping the floor was usually the last duty before the crew left for the night. I think closing time was usually about 5 or 5:30 p.m. The Store opened about 7:30 a.m. Also, I remember the smell of tractor exhaust when one of the mechanics cranked up an engine indoors, testing his mechanical abilities and seeing if the overhaul was a success.

n Employees of Morrison Truck & Tractor who made an impression on me as a youngster included Bob Morehead, “Shorty” Alumbaugh (his wife was my fourth grade teacher), “Shorty” Bartels (mechanic), Raymond Meyer (mechanic), Frank and Ron Morrison (my uncles), Kenneth Slusher (my nextdoor neighbor on Orchard Street), and, of course, my dad Richard Crews.

n Kenneth Slusher, who had been in the automobile business in Odessa, performed much of the painting in The Store’s body shop, a separate garage located to the north side of the main building. “Kenny” spray-painted used equipment, and no telling how many cans of IH Red he used through the years.

n The building across the street to the south of the main building was a Quonset hut-type building, used for storing machinery and at times a place for assembling and repairing equipment. Areas outside the building (both north and south of the Quonset) were used as lots for new and used equipment available for sale.

n Dad drove home each noontime for lunch during the week. He drove a flatbed truck. I think it was a 1950, maybe older, IHC L-180 series. Stick shift on the floor. Black color. At home, we had a freezer and a washing machine. I think both those appliances came from The Store. Later, when I was in high school, dad and mom had an IHC Scout (a small SUV of the mid-1960s) and I drove the Scout some when I received my driver’s license. Dad taught me how to drive a stick shift in the Scout. One Sunday afternoon he drove me outside of town, stopped the Scout, and said “drive us back home.” It took me a little getting used to the clutch pedal, but I got us home. I also backed into a pole one summer night and busted up the back end of the Scout.

n Morrison Truck & Tractor was located adjacent to the railroad line that runs through Odessa. The Gulf, Mobile & Ohio Railroad (GM&O) was a busy line. Odessa was on the stretch of line that spanned Missouri, from Kansas City east to Louisiana in northeast Missouri. As a youngster, I remember passenger trains on those rails, and I remember trains filled with troops in uniform (not sure when this was, or where the troops were going). The Puddlejumper was a train on the line that would come through Odessa shortly after 5:00 p.m. daily. It carried some mail. I remember my dad hurrying to write up a parts order, run the order to the train station, so it would arrive in Kansas City later that evening. I think, on occasion, The Store would receive IHC equipment via railcar.

n Across the tracks to the west of the main building was Carter Feed Mill, owned by Curtis Carter, a friend of C.C.’s and a fellow Odessa businessman. The feed mill (Tom Cox, another of C.C.’s friends and fishing buddies worked there) was a busy place and a successful business. The MFA feed mill was located north of Carter’s. To the south of Carter’s on the south side of Mason Street and across the tracks from the Quonset building was the Odessa livestock auction. Auctions were held each Monday, and they brought many farmers and livestock to town from throughout the area. Monday was a busy day at the auction and its restaurant and at Morrison Truck & Tractor.

n Parts orders would be phoned, also, to the IHC “parts depot” located in the Fairfax Industrial District in Kansas City, Kansas. I made many trips to “get parts” with my dad, as he drove the truck west on Highway 40, through downtown Kansas City, across the Kansas Viaduct over the Missouri-Kaw Rivers, then down to the industrial district for parts pick-up.

n I remember my dad helping me with my first Cub Scout Pinewood Derby car, using a vise in the back shop and a hand grinder to shape my car. Then we painted it metallic blue and detailed it with decals. And, “we” won top honors for design and looks. Not speed. I still have that car and am very proud of it.

n It seems like once per month or so, my C.C. and my dad would attend a “dealers meeting” in Sedalia (about 60 miles southeast of Odessa on Highways 65 and 50). IHC dealers from throughout the area would attend. (Nearby IHC dealers were located in Higginsville and Holden, for example.)

n Sedalia also is the site of the Missouri State Fair. In the 1950s and 1960s, farm implement dealers would display the latest and greatest tractors, plows, hay balers, combines, discs and other equipment. Volunteers from IHC dealerships would be on hand during the 10-day fair to visit with fair-goers and answer questions. My dad worked the State Fair many times. IHC also had a roving band of “square-dancing IHC #91 combines” that would perform some years at the Missouri State Fair.

n Morrison Truck & Tractor provided service calls. I remember accompanying my Uncle Ron Morrison to a farm about three miles east of Odessa, on the south side of Old Highway 40, to assemble a cultivator. It took a couple of days. Uncle Ron did the assembling; I mostly watched. My dad and I made a service call (can’t remember for what piece of equipment) to a farm field about three or four miles south of Higginsville Jct. on Highway 13 in the stretch of row crop bottoms on the west side of the highway.

n Through my growing up years, I played and climbed on IHC equipment, and for some lucky reason, I never was injured. I experienced no major cuts, bruises or broken bones at Morrison Truck & Tractor. Well, maybe that one time when I was horsing around near the plowshares of which I had a fascination. My mom remembers it took a few stitches to close the wound.

n My granddad, C.C. Morrison, could be cantankerous at times. He smoked King Edward cigars and seemed to always have a stub of a cigar in his mouth. He loved to laugh – a lot and out loud – and play cards with his friends. And his eyes twinkled when he saw you coming. He loved to fish; locally, at Lake of the Ozarks, at Bull Shoals, in Minnesota, in Canada, in Florida. He apparently had a large contingent of loyal clientele who through the years kept coming back, buying and trading IHC equipment with him, bringing their farm equipment in for servicing, stopping by The Store for business, for a visit or for some loafing and story-swapping.

n I remember the three-day closing-out auction which signaled C.C.’s retirement. I was 16 years old, and didn’t fully realize the effect of a long-time business closing in downtown Odessa. Not everyone who worked there was ready or able to retire. My dad went to work for Robey Truck & Tractor, the IHC dealership in Higginsville, working there a brief time before joining a public accounting firm (Stosberg, Davis, Musgrave and Atwood in Higginsville), continuing his career and ultimately retiring as an accountant in about 1990.

n At that auction in 1967, W.D. “Dub” Richard, the father of my high school football coach, Charlie Richard, bought my grandfather’s desk. Dub bought the desk for his son. It turns out that Coach Richard and his wife, Nancy, hauled that desk around at his coaching stops in Moberly, ending in Baldwin City, Kansas, where Charlie was a nationally-recognized coach at Baker University. The success of his teams at Baker and his abilities as a coach gained Charlie a place in the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Indiana. Charlie died a few years before his induction. In 2006, his widow contacted me and offered me the desk. My wife, Tricia, and I drove a van to Baldwin City on a Saturday morning and picked up the desk, hauling it back to our home in Columbia where it’s stored at this time in our garage. The desk was made for C.C. Morrison by a local Odessa carpenter, Ed Gorsuch. Gorsuch had built the desk with scraps from the house he built on East Dryden Street that belonged to my great-grandmother Davis, the mother of my grandmother Mildred. The desk is one of the last remaining items that for three decades was a fixture at Morrison Truck & Tractor.

-- Doug Crews, Columbia, Missouri May 2008 b. 1951, Son of Carmen Morrison Crews

My dad (Samuel Diggs) had a Farmall tractor, which looked like the one on page 21. Of course he purchased it from Cameron… My dad had dropped by Morrison Truck and Tractor almost weekly to buy a part for his machinery or maybe just to visit…. I remember Jack Ehlert worked there – Jack was a nickname for Lester. He went to church at Mt Tabor as our family did.

-- Evelyn Diggs Otto (8-08) b. 1939. Cousin of Cameron Morrison.

I read with great interest your history of Morrison Truck & Tractor, Inc. from 1937-1967. It was as if I were there in person and part of history. Fieth & Morrison Implement Co. is still in my brain and the pictures of the old implements are still familiar to me. I remember Carmen and Franklin well because they were both close to my age-a couple years older. The Morrison family and the Fieth family were close friends and got together frequently for dinner, a visit, and the children played games. Thank you so much for a backward look of 70 years.

-- Shirley Fieth Smith (12-08) Daughter of Richard Fieth

The Wisconsin Historical Society has obtained much of the International Harvester production records and related documents. These are searchable at the following link: http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Content.aspx?dsNav=N:1167. While searching these, Ron Morrison’s name and picture was found relating to an article in the International Harvester’s Company magazine. I contacted Uncle Ron and his reply was as follows:

Thank you for sending me this *IH Magazine. It brought back many memories, some of which I have mentioned below.

We had a mock political convention at Northwestern University leading up to the Presidential election in 1960. I believe it was held during the Spring quarter of my freshman year.

Senator Stuart Symington from Missouri was running for the nomination of the Democratic Party for the Presidency. Being a loyal Missouri boy, I chose to be part of the group supporting the Senator from our home state.

Brooks McCormick was the CEO of International Harvester at that time. He and his family had long been major supporters of Northwestern University. His mother had been the last of the Deering daughters. The library at Northwestern was and still is named as the Deering Library. Also, I believe Brooks McCormick was on the Board of Trustees of Northwestern at this time.

I believe Brooks used the occasion of the mock political convention to support dealers' and employees' with sons and daughters enrolled at Northwestern with a public interest blurb in his company's magazine.

When I was with IH in the Chicago Area District Farm Equipment Sales Office I got to spend a lot of time with officials from the Downtown Chicago office. I was number one gofer for any project anyone had at our district office or the Headquarters in Downtown Chicago. This included the introduction of the 706 and 806 line of tractors and their accompanying equipment. Our District Office worked with the Home Office to prepare for the introduction of the 706 and 806 line of equipment. The first presentation was staged in our district in order to make sure everything was ready to go before bringing all the farm equipment sales force and the dealer organization into the factories at Moline, Illinois. All of the IH Bigwigs descended on our District's/Home Office week long dress rehearsal of the 706 and 806 introduction.

Next, I spent about 60 days down at Moline, Illinois when all the district office personnel and dealers across the nation were brought in for the introduction of the 706 and 806 line. I was gofer for all the Farm Equipment personnel from the Home Office and factories in the introduction of the 706 and 806 line of equipment.

I even had the honor of serving as a gofer for Brooks McCormick at The Onwentsia Club Horse Show in 1964. I was called on to move mobile bleachers we had used for introduction of the 706 and 806 tractor line at the horse show. Brooks had seen these bleachers when my District Office had introduced the 706 and 806 line. I believe Brooks McCormick was an officer of the country club--maybe even its president at that time.

--Ron Morrison

*(1960). Convention Fever. International Harvester Today, Volume 11, Number 4, 21. See at bottom of this page.

Ron graduated from Northwestern with a Bachelor of Science in Investment Finance with emphasis in marketing and economics. Originally he received an invitation to attend Northwestern School of Music because of his ability in playing the tuba. After graduation, Ron stayed with International Harvester in Broadview (Suburb of Chicago) for about two years. He was a farm equipment product specialist.

EMPLOYEES OF MORRISON TRUCK AND TRACTOR, INC.

Nelson Adams

Francis W. Alumbaugh

Merton Bartels

Omar Begeman

Vernon Bird

John F. Bradfield

(Chene) Czeschin

Bruce Corn

Bob Crabtree

Cecil L. Cox

Sarah Lee Morrison Crabtree

Carmen Morrison Crews

Richard Crews

Chester Davis

James Davis

B. R. Day

Steven Dickinson

Lester Ehlert

Richard Fieth

Harold Frantz

Glen Gann

Francis Gudde

Mildred Hannah

Ernie Hill

Bill Hodson

James Johnston

Aubrey Kite

Larry M. Loveland

Raymond Manning

Raymond Meyer

James Martin

Harriet Morehead

Robert Morehead

Cameron Morrison

Frank Morrison

Mariena Morrison

Mildred Morrison

Ronald Morrison

Mack McCarthy

Walt Nelson

Rolla Polson

Paul Purvis

Fred Quigley

W. D. Richards

Glen Rice

Charles Scott

Arnold B. Simpson

Kenneth Slusher

Delmar Smith

William H. Tye. Jr.

James Van Meter

Credits

Contributors:

• Doug Crews – original idea, suggestions, stories.

• Carmen Morrison Crews and Dick Crews – stories and employees list.

• Frank Morrison – employees list, dates, and stories.

• Mariena Morrison Webb – stories, suggestions, and ideas.

• The Odessan (And earlier Odessa Democrat) newspaper on microfiche at the Odessa Public Library.

o Compiled by: Carl Crabtree, son of Sarah Lee Morrison Crabtree (May, 2008)

Note: The idea to compile information about Morrison Truck and Tractor began when Mariena and Doug were approached by Richard Gann (Son of Glenn Gann) for International Harvester Collectors Club “19^th Annual Red Power Round Up” which would be held June 11-14, 2008, at the Boone County Fairgrounds in Columbia, MO. In addition, and during past Morrison family reunions (2000 – present), the stories of Morrison Truck and Tractor were passed from older generations to younger generations. I have always enjoyed listening to my parents, aunts, and uncles (Carmen Morrison Crews and Richard Crews, Frank Morrison, Mother Sarah Lee Morrison Crabtree and father Robert Crabtree, Mariena Morrison Web, and Ronnie Morrison) share their unique experiences of the family business. From all this grew the idea to record in print some of these memories. I am sure there are many more stories to share from a variety of people. Additional stories will certainly surface and there is no intention on my part to leave out anyone or any story. Family members did their best to recall all the employees of Morrison Truck and Tractor and list them, though it is likely some were omitted. For this I apologize in advance. It is our hope that these recordings will spark your memories of Morrison Truck and Tractor, the history of the mid 1900s, and give a snap shot to those descendants of Cameron and Mildred Morrison who were not yet living during those past family years. I plan to keep updated versions of Morrison Truck and Tractor on my family history website: www.carlietree.com. Thank you.

--Carl Crabtree

carlietree@gmail.com