The very first Model 110 rolled off the assembly line in 1963. As with many of the "Historic" firsts from the John Deere Co., the 110 is no exception. If one wants to better understand why in 1963 John Deere entered the consumer Lawn & Garden market, you first need to see the changes that were going on all over America at that time.

In an attempt here to make the understanding of the demographic in America at that time, I will use myself as an example. Back in 1963, I was just about out of High School> I don't like to talk about my age, so you can figure it out from there. Back then, I & my family lived and worked in the city as well as all my relatives & friends. In fact, I can honestly say that when someone talked about living in the country or "upstate" that would be the equivalent of being on the moon...all alone. I did not see my first live cow until I was twenty one years old. Until then I always thought that lettuce naturally grew in a plastic bag in the back room of the so called supermarket. And milk, there was three kinds, white, chocolate & strawberry. And it all came from a magic pipe someplace in a downtown city factory.

But in the late 1950's & early 60's a change was taking place. The economy was seeing some growth, people in general were earning more & many were now looking for the good life. A piece of the land they could call their own. And this "piece of the land" ownership was turning out to be for most of us, a so called housing development where for what now seems to be a ridiculously low price, one could get the cape style or ranch style home on a beautifully landscaped (that meant grass) over sized (that meant 50 feet X 100 feet) lot. And so did Deere & Co. notice that opportunities to enter a new market were growing. I really do not think that back in 1963 the consumer market was viewed by Deere as a place they wanted to be. I would have loved to be a fly on the wall in those marketing meetings that surely had taken place about this new growth opportunity. I can close my eyes and imagine all the loud voices & table pounding that went on!

But at some point, Deere had to have realized that they could not stay out of this market. They probably decided that they could not let competitive brands shut them out. But it had to have been a real uphill challenge for them on at least three fronts, marketing to the consumer, advertising to the consumer & engineering a consumer product that would be under tremendous financial pressure. I am sure that someone in that conference room must have reminded all that were present, that in Deere's history this challenge had been met before & with tremendous success. One must remember that the John Deere company's first & main product was plows! It was not until they acquired the Waterloo Tractor Company that put them on the map as a major tractor manufacturer.

Perhaps it was a good thing that prior to 1963 they did not attempt to enter the consumer market. Because had the pressure not been there at the time to seriously compete in a new market, I don't think they ever would have come out of the starting gate with that 110, which I consider to be the mother of all lawn & garden tractors we have seen evolve over the past forty five years or so.

I think a lot of the appeal that Deere Lawn & Garden tractors of the era held was their visual appearance. I call it the "Industrial Strength" look. Its that unique look in a consumer market product & today rarely, if ever seen. If you study closely the look of that little 110, you can almost see the struggle that the designer had. When I look at the 110 I see the miniaturization of the classic Two Number Series, Two Cylinder Tractors like the Model 60 or 70 Two Cylinders. It's a scaled down version of a rock solid industrial strength farm tractor of the 1950 & 60's era, at least in my minds eye. And I don't think the final look of the 110 was a clean & smooth move into the consumer market. I think there was a real gap that could not be filled in time to come up with a much more consumer friendly look like much of the competition had in place.

Well what a break that was for Deere! For whatever the reasons, it was a hit with the consumer market. Now that new suburban land baron not only had his piece of the land, but also the iron to work the land as it were! As time went on, the 110 went through a series of refinements & upgrades, but until the end of production, it always maintained a lot of the Industrial Strength look. But it was not only its looks either.

Packaged along with that Industrial Strength look, there was also the muscle behind it. While many of the consumer market riding mower (that's what they were known as back then) came an assortment of attachments that most of the competition could not offer. People wanted to do more than just sit on top of a mower deck and ride around cutting grass. They wanted to get involved for the first time with growing their own food, planting flower beds & hauling that bag of fertilizer or stone chips from the back yard to the front yard. And yes don't forget that snow removal job one or two times during the northern winter months. From mower decks to snow blades, blowers, tow behind's & cultivators, Deere's 110 could do it all.

Granted that many of the attachments offered may have been viewed by some as just an unnecessary luxury, none the less, it was available to the home owner. Whether or not Deere planed to go as deep as it did into this new market, or it just turned out that way they were undeniably successful. And the 110 kept getting stronger and better. Eventually the line grew into the Two Hundred series tractors, then the 300 & Four Hundred series hydrostatic drive machines. Then came along the compact utility tractor adding even greater versatility to the line. And for those who just wanted a smaller, lighter lawn tractor at a lower cost, Deere paid attention and gave them the 60, 70, & 100 lawn tractor.

I only recently acquired my very own model 110. Its a 1972 square fender. Its condition is not fully known because I have not had any time to go over it. But it has all the makings of a great restoration project. For any hobbyist-restorer or collector the prize of the 110 fleet has to be the early 1963 production run of these tractors. But for those of us who are not as fortunate to own or come across one to ad to out collection can just as easily find great satisfaction in any of the 110 line. I don't know why I waited so long to get my first 110, but I'm glad that I finally did. Isn't it time you had a 110!

Jerry