When Harry Met: Hokes Bluff welder Don Turner, known for his replica tractors

Harry D. Butler
·4 min read

“Made from scratch” is a term said many a time by grandmothers when describing a special meal they are known for making. It’s well-defined in the Merriam-Webster dictionaries, but this writer would suggest contacting Don Turner in Hokes Bluff to learn more about “making from scratch.”

Rick Hester, a former WJBY co-worker in the early 1970s, sent me a Toy Farmer magazine that featured a special story about Turner, who specializes in building half-scale pedal tractors — made from scratch — that are exact copies of farm tractors.

They are mainly copies of tractors made in the years Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Co. was located in East Gadsden. Rick suggested that I should visit the 69-year-old welder to learn more about his work that has created coast-to-coast interest among collectors of pedal cars and other toys.

This is one of the pedal cars made by Don Turner of Hokes Bluff modeled after the Allis-Chalmers Model G tractors that were made in Gadsden from 1948 to 1955.
This is one of the pedal cars made by Don Turner of Hokes Bluff modeled after the Allis-Chalmers Model G tractors that were made in Gadsden from 1948 to 1955.

According to tractordata.com, A-C built 29,976 of its Model G tractors, all at its Gadsden plant, between 1948 and 1955. (It built cotton pickers, mowing machines and oil filters at the same facility.)

They were small, rear-engine tractors, according to the website, that initially sold for $970 and were targeted at small farmers and gardeners. They featured custom implements and were more like motor cultivators seen in the early 20th century.

Turner is an Etowah County native, educated in local schools, and a graduate of the welding program of his high school’s vocational program. His first jobs were in the West Alabama coal mines, at Joy Manufacturing in Altoona and at the Pullman-Standard Company in Bessemer, where he spent eight years.

Then, Turner went into business for himself in 1978, “working on cars, tractors, etc., anything to make a dollar.”

He began buying used tractors from Europe, which had cabs that would easily rust because of the moist climate. “I’d remove the cab and make fenders and running boards for the tractors,” he said. “Due to the demand, I started making tractor parts for 150 European customers and four employees; that type of business stopped with 9/11.”

Don Turner of Hokes Bluff is pictured with a Spirit of '76 pedal tractor he built. Turner's half-scale but exact replicas of noted farm tractors have gained attention from coast to coast.
Don Turner of Hokes Bluff is pictured with a Spirit of '76 pedal tractor he built. Turner's half-scale but exact replicas of noted farm tractors have gained attention from coast to coast.

Turner began making tractor parts after that, making more than 169 tractor parts that are offered in the Steiner Tractor catalog. He also makes parts for All-State Tractor in Lake Charles, Louisiana.

The most popular part Turner sells for antique tractors is battery covers, a part in continued use from 1965 to 2010. “The originals were made of fiberglass,” he said, “and are easily broken.” The replacements are made of metal.

“I started making pedal tractors about 10 years ago,” Turner explained to my colleague, Debbie Pope. “I build a prototype, decide on the number of pedal tractors to build and then build all the parts that will be needed.”

He then powder coats the parts and assembles one of the pedal tractors. If everything looks and fits well, he puts together all the remaining pedal tractors. The entire process takes from 200 to 300 hours to build the prototype and about 40 hours to assemble each pedal tractor. The sales price is upward of $5,000 each.

Turner told Toy Farmer in July 2022 that he’d built 25 A-C Model G pedal tractors and 22 of the Oliver 55 gas versions. He told writer Fred Hendricks that he makes limited numbers of each pedal tractor model because they are so specialized, and also enjoys making implements for each model.

He also makes J.I. Case, Massey-Ferguson, Avery and Minneapolis-Moline pedal tractors.

Turner’s half-scale work has been featured in more than 35 major magazines, newspapers and other publications, and has received radio and television coverage as he has attended farm and tractor shows across the United States.

Now, more about that “made from scratch” remark at the top of this writing. Turner said he was born with the ability to look at a tractor photograph and then build a pedal version, without taking a measurement or drawing plans on paper. He said he’s used it “to build about 14 prototype pedal tractors.”

That special ability, his superb craftsmanship and his attention to detail have taken Turner to the top of the market for nostalgia collectors — “those who remember their youth as they seek out the pedal cars they used to drive up and down the streets, pretending they were grown,” the Times’ John Davidson wrote in 2013.

Turner owns numerous antique tractors that he proudly shows at national events, including the first and last A-C Model G tractors made in Gadsden.

For more information about Turner’s half-scale models, or to visit his showroom and antique farm museum, call 256-492-4468 or email dmturner36@gmail.com.

Harry D. Butler, a former broadcaster, is a motivational speaker and author of “Alabama’s First Radio Stations, 1920-1960.” Butler periodically sits down with someone of note, then brings the conversation to readers.

This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: Harry Butler visits Don Turner, famed for his replica tractors