Giant Talking International Harvester Robots Spotted At Fairs around the Country
By Laura Farley
Tracto the "Talking" RobotSummertime is here and that means counties and states around the USA will be gearing up for fairs. For decades, visitors have flocked to local, county, and state fairs to compete in produce and handiwork competitions, socialize with food and entertainment, and scope out new technology for the farm and home.
One company that was a staple of the fair throughout the 1900s was the International Harvester (IH) Company, which developed from the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company [www.wisconsinhistory.org/libraryarchives/ihc/] established by Cyrus McCormick, [www.wisconsinhistory.org/libraryarchives/ihc/cyrus.asp] the “Reaper King,” in 1847.
The McCormick-International Harvester Collection [www.wisconsinhistory.org/libraryarchives/ihc/contents.asp] is housed at the Wisconsin Historical Society
and contains a wide variety of records, including photographs [www.wisconsinhistory.org/whi/] and press releases of two fair favorites, the robots Harvey Harvester and Tracto.
In the 1930s, the first IH robot to appear at fairs was Harvey Harvester. Harvey Harvester was made out of IH machine parts, including a grill of an International truck for his chest. He could talk and was certainly a bizarre encounter for visitors. Below are two photographs of Harvey Harvester at a fair in Iowa, the first with a group of men and women posed with the robot and the second of a girl and Harvey Harvester.
"Harvey Harvester" in Iowa, 1938
Iowa. Group of people posed with IH Robot, Harvey Harvestor. View the original source document: WHI 79990
Girl Standing with "Harvey Harvester", 1938
Iowa. Girl posed with IH Robot, Harvey Harvestor. View the original source document: WHI 59238
From the photographs, you can see that Harvey Harvester was taller and broader than most men and wearing a hat. He is stationary and partitioned by a chain link fence.
In 1960, IH introduced a new robot at fairs, Tracto. Like his predecessor Harvey Harvester, Tracto also was assembled from IH parts.
A press release from July 27, 1960, from the IH Company described the robot as being “assembled from 227 standard production tractor and implement parts used in and in conjunction with the company’s Farmall 560 tractor,” which accounts for the name Tracto. Standing at eight-feet tall, Tracto must have been an impressive sight.
International Harvester’s district office personnel had a hand in delighting fairgoers by manning the robot’s amplification system for conversation. When Tracto spoke with fairgoers his eyes lit up and his head and right arm would move. Harvey Harvester was a stationary robot while Tracto was mobile on two tractor wheels. Below is a photograph of Traco holding a small girl enjoying a sucker, demonstrating the immense scale of the robot.
Tracto the "Talking" Robot Holding Child, 1960
Traco holding a small girl enjoying a sucker, demonstrating the immense scale of the robot. View the original source document: WHI 45755
No one knows for sure what happened to Harvey Harvester and Tractor, although there are some rumors that Tracto now belongs to a private collector. Whatever became of the robots, they were a much anticipated draw for many fairgoers in their heyday.
This summer when you’re out enjoying the local, county, and state fairs, keep your eyes peeled for giant talking robots!