Very unique walk-behind cultivator - need to identify

[Farm-Guy]

Greetings! I am new to this forum and I am looking for some expertise and help. I inherited a family farm in 2017 that has been in my family for over 100 years. I have one particular piece of equipment.....a walk-behind cultivator that I am hoping to identify. I am unable to find any photos on the Internet of anything like it, or that is similar. It is no longer in my possession because I donated it to the Yamhill Valley Heritage Center, but I would still like to try and identify it so that I can forward more information to the museum.

https://yamhillcountyhistory.org/yamhill-valley-heritage-center/

All that I know about it is that my father (now deceased) used to use it to cultivate a large garden for my grandmother. It had a Wisconsin engine on it however the specific information was no longer readable on the metal tag that was attached. I would like to know the value of what something this old might be. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

 

[bmaverick]

Bolens made some weird stuff back in the day with Wisconsin engines. This machine is a tad older than the one you donated.

John Deere used the Wisconsin engines in their tillers back in the day too.

It has that old JD green look on the traxs machine. Old Toro's use to be that color too.

 

[Farm-Guy]

Bolens made some weird stuff back in the day with Wisconsin engines. This machine is a tad older than the one you donated.

View attachment 727588

John Deere used the Wisconsin engines in their tillers back in the day too.

View attachment 727592

It has that old JD green look on the traxs machine. Old Toro's use to be that color too.

Thanks for your post. The gas tank is about the only thing that looks similar from the 1st photo that you posted, which may have been a common design for the Wisconsin engines in those days. As for the paint, it is hard to tell from the photo that I posted, but it was obvious before I donated it, that it had been repainted.....or at least "touched up" at some time with green paint, so the green color may not have been the original color. Having said that, I could not see where any other color of old paint was bleeding through. Later in life, my father purchased, used, repaired, scrapped, and sold various bulldozers and heavy equipment parts. He had a now defunct associated business. I like to think that using this walk-behind cultivator was what first got him interested in tracked equipment when he was young.

 

[bcp]

Maybe this?

Used Farm Tractors for Sale: Mity Mite Walk Behind Crawler (2003-12-11) - Yesterday's Tractors

Mity Mite Walk Behind Crawler for sale (2003-12-11)

www.tractorshed.com

Used Farm Tractors for Sale: Mity Mite Walk Behind Crawler (2004-03-24) - Yesterday's Tractors

Mity Mite Walk Behind Crawler for sale (2004-03-24)

www.tractorshed.com

Bruce

 

[coast40]

Thanks for your post. The gas tank is about the only thing that looks similar from the 1st photo that you posted, which may have been a common design for the Wisconsin engines in those days. As for the paint, it is hard to tell from the photo that I posted, but it was obvious before I donated it, that it had been repainted.....or at least "touched up" at some time with green paint, so the green color may not have been the original color. Having said that, I could not see where any other color of old paint was bleeding through. Later in life, my father purchased, used, repaired, scrapped, and sold various bulldozers and heavy equipment parts. He had a now defunct associated business. I like to think that using this walk-behind cultivator was what first got him interested in tracked equipment when he was young.

My dad and I would go to Kroenigs for parts. Sometimes I would pick up parts when going home from Linfield. Neat machine!

 

[Farm-Guy]

Maybe this?

Used Farm Tractors for Sale: Mity Mite Walk Behind Crawler (2003-12-11) - Yesterday's Tractors

Mity Mite Walk Behind Crawler for sale (2003-12-11)

www.tractorshed.com

Used Farm Tractors for Sale: Mity Mite Walk Behind Crawler (2004-03-24) - Yesterday's Tractors

Mity Mite Walk Behind Crawler for sale (2004-03-24)

www.tractorshed.com

Bruce

Bruce....thank you for your effort!!!.....I think that you "nailed" what it is......and the caption helps to place the approximate date for the unit.

 

[Farm-Guy]

My dad and I would go to Kroenigs for parts. Sometimes I would pick up parts when going home from Linfield. Neat machine!

At one point in time my father Albert Kroenig, sold the business and it operated for a number of years by someone else under the same business name. My father actually lived across the street off of Laughter Lane from where the business was located. Later, he moved back to the farm where he was born on. When he moved to the farm, he brought some equipment with him including literally tons of Caterpillar parts. After he died, I checked with a few other tractor wrecking yards but they were not really interested in what remained, so after his death I hired some "scrappers" to come in and remove most of the heavy metal that remained so that I could get the farm cleaned up. Between my uncle Edwin Kroenig who was a bee-keeper, rancher, built grain storage structures, and farmed about 350 acres....and my father who besides having his business, also did logging and built earth dams in the area, a lot of people knew of them and had various connections. When I donated the track cultivator to the museum, they were familiar with my family. I also donated what is called a log branding iron which will be used at the working logging mill part of the museum. It had the initials of my father and uncle, and was used to mark the butt end of logs prior to delivery to a mill, so that the logs were traceable for payment. The museum staff were excited to add that to their collection. I would much rather donate such things to a museum where they can be viewed by others rather than trying to sell them and make a few bucks. It is good to see legacies live on for future generations.

 

[coast40]

At one point in time my father Albert Kroenig, sold the business and it operated for a number of years by someone else under the same business name. My father actually lived across the street off of Laughter Lane from where the business was located. Later, he moved back to the farm where he was born on. When he moved to the farm, he brought some equipment with him including literally tons of Caterpillar parts. After he died, I checked with a few other tractor wrecking yards but they were not really interested in what remained, so after his death I hired some "scrappers" to come in and remove most of the heavy metal that remained so that I could get the farm cleaned up. Between my uncle Edwin Kroenig who was a bee-keeper, rancher, built grain storage structures, and farmed about 350 acres....and my father who besides having his business, also did logging and built earth dams in the area, a lot of people knew of them and had various connections. When I donated the track cultivator to the museum, they were familiar with my family. I also donated what is called a log branding iron which will be used at the working logging mill part of the museum. It had the initials of my father and uncle, and was used to mark the butt end of logs prior to delivery to a mill, so that the logs were traceable for payment. The museum staff were excited to add that to their collection. I would much rather donate such things to a museum where they can be viewed by others rather than trying to sell them and make a few bucks. It is good to see legacies live on for future generations.

I haven't been to that museum or The Spruce Goose yet.

 

[Farm-Guy]

I have not been to the air museum in McMinnville either, although others in my family have. All that I can say is that I was very impressed about the the farm museum just outside of McMinnville. It is well worth your time to visit it although probably much more enjoyable on one of their special days when the mill will be in operation. I have not seen it running yet myself but I want to maybe later this year. The staff at the museum were kind enough to give my grandson and I a personal guided tour through the building when I donated the two items, even though the museum was not open to the general public that day.