Collecting tractors is Steensen’s hobby

Purchase of a John Deere 730 Diesel in 1970 led to a lifelong pursuit.

By Rich Wicks | Guthrie Center Times, April 2025

Most anyone who likes classic tractors would be thrilled to walk into the shed of Cletus and Cindy Steensen of rural Adair.

“I’ve been a tractor nut from the day I was born. I grew up on the Fords and the John Deeres. My uncle lived next door, and he was a tractor nut, too, and he liked the mechanic work,” Steensen said. “My dad was more of a woodworker.”

Steensen recalled his father assigning him the job of maintaining the family’s tractors, which included tuning them up, changing oil and making numerous repairs. Steensen quickly learned much of what it takes to keep a tractor running smoothly. That experience later paid off both professionally and as a hobby.

“In 1998, hog prices had really dropped, so I got out of the hog business, and, just by word of mouth, people started asking if I’d help them with some tractors. I had a little mechanic shop and welding stuff,” Steensen said. “I ended up doing a lot of tractor repairs and restorations as a business, and then I retired from that in 2018.”

While working on other people’s tractors, Steensen also worked on a few of his own. He now has a small collection of his favorites.

“The collection I have here, the six of them, are the 30 series. It’s the last series of two-cylinder tractors that John Deere made,” Steensen said. “The one I bought first was the 730 Diesel. I bought that in 1970, and I didn’t know it was a 1960; I just wanted a tractor.”

That purchase in 1970 led to a lifelong pursuit and hobby.

“I started wanting to collect the 1960 series. That was the thrill of the hunt,” Steensen said. “One came from 50 miles west of Fort Smith, Arkansas, in Oklahoma. Another one came from South Dakota. One I bought at a Carroll machinery auction.”

Besides that series of six classic John Deere tractors, Steensen also has a few Ford tractors in his shed.  But even that isn’t his entire collection. 

“I’ve got a few more tractors down at my son’s place,” he said. “It’s been fun, and I still do it. I’ve got one in the shop I’m waiting on parts for.”

Some of the tractors Steensen has restored sat unused for as many as 20 years. This can make his task more challenging, but he doesn’t back down. In particular, carburetors, injection pumps and fuel tanks do not age well when neglected for many years. But, for Steensen, the end justifies the means.

“I tear them clear down and rebuild them. And when you first hit the switch to start them up, it’s kind of a neat thing to hear them running,” he said.

Steensen displays great attention to detail in his hobby.

“I like to keep everything as original as I can,” he said. “But I’ve had some parts that I couldn’t find, so I had to have a friend machine one for me.”

As if finding, fixing and restoring classic tractors to near mint condition was not enough to keep him busy, Steensen has also found himself doing similar work on vintage sewing machines. In his shed, along with the tractors, he has several Singer sewing machines manufactured more than a century ago. 

“Usually, in the winter, I work on them,” Steensen said. “That first one I did, we took it to the county fair, and my granddaughter sewed with it.”

Steensen recalled a favorite memory with his John Deere tractors.

“It’s been a few years ago that we had all six of them in the Guthrie County Fair parade,” he said. “My youngest boy drove the 830. My next youngest drove the 730. My youngest daughter drove the 630, and my oldest daughter drove the 530. My wife, Cindy, drove the 430, and then I came up behind with a hayrack with the grandkids on it.”

Steensen plans to continue his hobby. 

“I’ll keep working on these things until I can’t do it anymore,” he said. “I’ve had a good time doing it.” 

Know someone in Guthrie County whose vehicle, collection or hobby would make an interesting story? Email ideas to rich@gctimesnews.com.