Useful Print References & Sources

These are various magazines and print literature with substantial articles or pictorials (not just brief mentions or single pictures) that might be of interest to a researcher into Heider or Rock Island.

 If you know of a resource that fits here that is not mentioned feel free to contact me.

$= Heider Article

%= Rock Island Tractor Article

# = Gas Engine Article

· July/August 1994: “Humble Begginings: History of the Heider Co.” $ & “Restoration of a Heider A” $

· May/Jun 2009 “Canadian Connection: Friction in Canada” pt 1 $%

· July/Aug 2009 “Canadian Connection: Friction in Canada” pt 2 $%

· Sept/Oct 1999 “Making Life easier: Rock Island Tractors” % & “Rock Island reflections” %

· May/Jun 2006 “Heider 15-27: A Piece of Rock Island” $

· May/Jun 1998 “Herb Wessels Heider Motor Cultivator” $

· May/June 2003 “Back Home To Rock Island” %

 

· “Rock Island Plow Co. Rock Island IL, 1855-1937: Chronology of its product line of farm implements and of company events” By Lawrence L Cornelius. Despite weighing in at 170+ pages, there’s a lot less here then you might expect. Two pages of tractor illustrations and part of a page listing the main tractors with minimal details is the entire tractor section (and parts are even incorrect). The gas engine section is even smaller. What this book does have is a lovingly compiled collection of implement ads and implement chronology. Bar none, this is the single most complete collection of RIPC implement information one could ask for. Mixed in with the implement information are snippets of the RIPC timeline.

· “Rock Island Plow Company” compiled by Alan C King. A compilation of common RIPC and Heider ads from the company focusing on tractors.

· “The Man Behind The Plow: Robert N Tate, Early Partner of John Deere” by Connie Fairfield Ganz. A narrative based around R.N. Tate’s diary. Not a lot on the plow company, but a good look at the man and events of the day, actually a good read with a lot of information.

· “150 years of J.I.Case” By CH Wendel. One of the most complete print overviews of the Rock Island Plow company including a number of prints of Rock Island and Heider Tractors in a section devoted to RIPC.

· “Full Steam Ahead” By David Erb and Eldon Brumbaugh. More narrative and fewer pictures then Wendel, it is in many ways more complete and informative in its Rock Island section. That said, it also contains substantially more errors and disputable points. 

· “Encyclopedia of American Farm Implements & Antiques” By CH Wendel. Rock Island Plow Company has numerous entries and drawings in this book due to their extensive implement line.

· “F.K. Weyerhaeuser:  A Biography” & “Phil Weyerhaeuser: Lumberman” by Charles E. Twining. Very little on the Plow company, what there is mostly is concerned with the divestiture of the company. Still, an interesting look inside the Weyerhaeuser empire of the day.

· “Farm Implement manufacturers and dealers in Early Rock Island County 1836-1926.” By Lawrence L Cornelius. A look at the ag business in Rock Island County as it developed through ads and limited narratives and timelines. This was one of his earlier books and contains a lot of incorrect info he corrected in later books.

· June/July 2003 “Rock Island Reunion”%

· Oct 2010 “Roots of Rock Island” $ &

· Oct/Nov 2003 “Heider Friction Drive” $

· Sept 2005 “Restorative Therapy” $%

· “Remembering the Rock Island “ %

· Oct/Nov 2002 “Rock Island Line”#

· April/May 2001”Rock Island Restoration” #

· July/Aug 1997 “Heider Power Lift” $

 

Antique Power

Print Books

Unfortunately, there are few print books devoting significant space to RIPC, and most of those that do are regurgitations of the same few paragraphs. The following are the books I have so far found to be notable in Heider or RIPC information. To the best of my knowledge, only two authors have written books entirely devoted to the RIPC.

Farm Collector Magazine

Copy write 2011, 2012, 2013 not for republication or sale without express written consent. All images are the property of their respective owners and are not to be reused without their express permission. 

· Sept 2007 “Rock Island Line”$

· Nov 2011 “John Heider Sale” $

·  

Old Tractor Magazine (UK)

 Tractor Magazine (UK)

· March 2005  “Rock Island Line!”%

· Aug 2008 “Whats all the Friction about?” $