The 1967 open-house invitation and Fred Glassen back on his old tractor.
A birthday party for the shop, 1967
For its seventy-fifth anniversary, J.F. Roling & Son invited everyone to an open house on Tuesday, August 22, 1967. The announcement promised a cutaway John Deere tractor, the latest tractors and implements, refreshments and door prizes. Edgar Linneman was to demonstrate his miniature sawmill and steam engine. Alongside the invitation were Joe Roling’s portrait and a photograph naming twelve members of the staff.
Source: J.F. Roling & Son, “Today—Celebrating 75 Years of Progress,” Salisbury Press-Spectator, August 18, 1967, page 15. Original newspaper page.
Back on his old John Deere at 94
At J.F. Roling & Son's seventy-fifth-anniversary open house, 94-year-old Fred Glassen climbed aboard a 1929 John Deere tractor he had once owned. It was still in working order. After the photograph, Fred drove it back into the shop with an employee's assistance—a small reunion between a man and a machine from his own working life.
Source: undated newspaper photograph and caption from the J.F. Roling & Son seventy-fifth-anniversary open house.