European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - September 9, 1978, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Doily Magazine my my of a i a texan searches for the old ones by Raymundo Perez United press internationals someone with $1 million could t buy Louis Miller s antique tractors and not even a chunk of that could not make Miller part with his Pride a 1914 Waterloo boy the predecessor of the John Deere tractor. Miller has a collection of old tractors he and his brother Ray have restored in the last decade. Miller allows people to come see them at his George town Texas Home. He transports them to shows. But he won t sell not at any Price. I would t take $5,000 for it the Waterloo boy he said. There Are Only two in Texas and the other one has t been  Miller owns 75 old tractors including 12 he has re stored. The Georgetown native has combed just about every farm Field or pasture in the state in search of old tractors. And he said hell continue preserving history with his restoration until they haul me  i have a 69 Ford pickup with 209,000 Miles on it drawled Miller and a Good bit of those Miles Are from travelling around looking for  it takes Miller and his brother about a year to restore a tractor. The Waterloo boy was a bit of a Rush Job. I really wanted this one bad he said As he admired it. Louis Miller with his 1914 Waterloo boy. Up it took Miller three years to buy the Waterloo boy once he located it at a farm near Pflugerville Texas. A John Deere tractor co. Dealer told Miller he had heard the tractor was on a farm near the Central Texas town. I m kind of a pest said Miller. I try not to be. I went door to door to every farm around Pfluger Ville. Finally a Man at a store told me where it might be. And then it took me three years to convince the owner to sell it to me. I kept asking him about it and then one Day he gave  Miller was born in Williamson county 54 years ago. He s been around tractors All of his life. He is an historian although he does t Call himself one. He s a tall Man with Buck Teeth. His wide Grin exposes empty gaps and a baseball Cap hides an almost Bald head. His Blue work shirt is drenched in sweat. His shop Miller s mechanical Mart is pitiful look ing at Best. It s housed in an aluminium building sur rounded by tall weeds and a sprinkling of old Frame houses. There s hardly a spot on the Concrete floor that in t covered with Oil. Some of the tractors Are stored in old shacks around the shop. Other priceless tractors Are hidden by the 5 foot tall grass and weeds in the Yard. But that matters Little to Miller. And he cannot conceal his Pride. If people keep taking their old tractors to junkyards then it won t be Long before grandfathers won t be Able to show their grandsons anything from the past he said. And there s another thing that makes him restore trac tors i have a very Good Friend who s my age. He loves dogs. He was orphaned when he was very Young and he lived with an Uncle who was a dentist. But he was t Al Lowed to have a dog Miller said. Well my Friend grew up Loving dogs i guess because he could t have one when he was Young. And now there in t a dog he does t love. I m Kinda the same Way about tractors. My father had an old Fordson but he did t like it. But i did and i wanted one since i was a  and once he acquired and restored his first tractor Miller s passion became insatiable. Among his prize possessions Are a 1919 Fordson an Early Model designed by Henry Ford and a 1914 intern tonal Harvester Titan he found in Helotes Texas. He has another International Harvester Model a four Cylinder tractor built in 1918. Miller also owns a 1919 Case Model that features a Cross ways motor. That one had been stored in a shed since 1936. I found it two years ago he said. His oldest tractor is a 20-ton steam engine tractor built in 1909, which he occasionally drives in parades. Would you buy a used car from j m Auto sales of saw by Dale Singer United press International for years Mike Johnson had a Normal 9-to-5career in the banking business while Jinn Oakley worked his Way up to a secure Job in the  the longtime St. Louis friends spent much of their spare time fixing old cars and they finally decided to turn avocation into vocation and become their own Bosses. Eighteen months later pm Auto sales is doing Well enough to pay the Bills the men said but they have Learned that changing careers and starting a business is not As simple As it May sound. If someone had written a manual saying this is How you go into the used car business on a shoestring and de tailing All of the problems involved Johnson said in an interview at the firm s drab office we probably would have stayed at our old  Jim left and Mike s used car lot. Up the men met As teen agers Mike had an old Nash he thought could beat my Oldsmobile Oakley recalled and their enthusiasm for making old cars run like new was stronger than their satisfaction with their old jobs. So they decided to find out the Public s answer to the age old question would you buy a used car from these men i think we both knew we d find out real Quick whether it would work Johnson said and we both figured darn it it s either do it while we re in our Middle 30s or never do it at  they bought an established lot along a Busy Street near several car dealers new and used. They scouted the classified ads and bought some old cars. They fixed them up. Then they waited for customers and the customers came. It took off better than we Ever thought it would Johnson said. But that was before the heavy snows of last Winter when no one showed up for Days at a time. Sales have since picked up but neither Man realized business would be so erratic. You sell them All at once Johnson said then you run around trying to find More Nice ones to fix up. Then you sit for a few Days with nothing then you sell them All at once again. That was half the excitement at the beginning. You d sell something then you d figure great we be got the Money now to go out and buy another  both Oakley 37, and Johnson 36, appreciate the sup port they have received from their families both moral and financial. But Johnson said if you want to be truthful it does help to have a wife who s  their experience with cars has helped shape their business too. They tend to buy the Type of cars they like themselves firebirds Samaros cougars and they Are learning what the Public is willing to spend for the right car. We had a 1973, Nova sit out there for a month with a $400 Price on it Oakley said. But a 1965 Plymouth a Good one can sell in a Day for $300. You take an old car fix it up put a Little Pizzazz on it and you have something everybody  right now Oakley and Johnson do As much of the fixing As they can by themselves we still get pretty Greasy occasionally Johnson said and they d like to keep it that Way. As the business grows they d like to sell better cars not necessarily More cars. They Don t want to become executives overseeing a staff of salesmen and doing nothing but bookkeeping. After All that s Why they left their old jobs in the first place. So Many people work at a Job All their lives Johnson said and they realize my god i was t Happy for 30 years it s much better being broke and Happy i  saturday september 9, 1978 the stars and stripes Page 13