The Iowa Man Who Carved His Way Into Legendary Status

By the time a person reaches 96 years of age, they're inclined to settle down a tad. For me, if I end up to be one of the lucky few to achieve such an age, I'll likely been napping in front of the television, not whittling away on tractors.

But that's exactly what Jim DeBoer has been doing since he was 12 years old. According to Jim, he didn't have a very many farm toys growing up, so he decided to make his own.

Ask anyone around the small Iowa town of Orange City about tractors and chances are, Jim's name will pop up in the discussion at some point. That's for good reason, as he's almost spoken about like an institution in the area by local farmers and residents.

Jim DeBoer is as essential to Orange City as its internationally famous Tulip Festival, or its proud Dutch heritage. And he has no intention of slowing down anytime soon.

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Jim has been meticulously carving tractors for over 80 years now and anyone who sees them is blown away at the detail put into each and every aspect of his carving. If you've been around ag you're whole life, you're probably used to seeing the die-cast metal models at trade shows, or on display at your local tractor supply store. Not only do Jim's wooden tractors give the die-cast ones a run for their money, but in many cases, they're even more accurate looking, which is pretty remarkable to think about.

But he doesn't exclusively carve tractors. In fact, he whittles away on all aspects of the ag-lifestyle. Jim's first carving at the age of 12 was a manure spreader. Upon completion, he decided that any proper manure spreader needed a tractor to go along with it, and a legend was born.

To put into perspective what a massive undertaking this is, Jim has stated that each tractor alone takes him approximately 80 hours to build. But that's nothing compared to his Peterbilt Truck, which consumed around 250 hours of his time. As far as the tractors go, nearly all of Jim's are John Deere duplicates, although you'll find a few Case-IH in there as well.

All in all, Jim has carved over 100 models, which include tractors, combines, corn pickers, trucks, and whatever else he gets the itch for. Several of Jim's models can be viewed during the Plymouth County Fair each July, in the historic Big Round Barn.

To learn more about Jim DeBoer and his amazing life, check out the YouTube video below from Micah William Foster Media Production. You can also read a bit more into Jim's history with carving and his love of all things agriculture in this article, from the Farm Show Website, along with this article from the Farmers Hotline Website.

Story Sources: Farmers Hotline Website, Farm Show Website