Today we are used to roads that can be driven on at all times. But it hasn't always been like that. In the early days roads were not paved. No problem in summer, except for the dust, but in winter they would become rutted or could turn
into real quagmires after heavy rainfall. These roads needed to be regularly graded. At first this was done by
a horse dragging wooden planks across the surface. Later a grader was used, and
the horse was replaced by a crawler tractor. One company manufacturing these graders was the
Russell Grader Manufacturing Company from Stephen, Minnesota. In 1928 the Caterpillar Tractor Co. realized that Russell's clients were purchasing their tractors to pull these graders. Not wanting to be left out of a growing market Caterpillar bought Russell. Within a few years Caterpillar redesigned Russell's original graders and started selling them under their own name. Seen here is
a later model, probably made just before WWII. It's in show condition and will be offered by Worldwide Auctioneers during
their Auburn Auction on August 31. Wouldn't
this grader be a great help in maintaining your driveway?
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