There was a big write up in the South Bend Tribune within the past couple years about the founder of Wheel Horse, and the fact that the modern garden tractor was developed in South Bend immediately after WWII by the founders of the company. It was an idea that was first advertised in publications like Popular Mechanics that was produced in a small job shop, then a larger job shop, then a factory producing hundreds a day, etc. etc. The growth in average lawn size with the growth of suburbia, and the lack of established tractor producers responding to the need for a smaller unit was given as the reason for the success of the company.
Studebaker isn't the only household name to have it's origin or some close tie to South Bend. Bendix, Alka Seltzer, HUMMER, Oliver, Singer, Whirpool, Allis-Chalmers, Clark Equipment, and a few others all are significant names that have significant ties to the area.
Kevin Wolford
Plymouth, IN
55 Champion
60 Lark VI Conv.
63 Avanti R1
Studebaker isn't the only household name to have it's origin or some close tie to South Bend. Bendix, Alka Seltzer, HUMMER, Oliver, Singer, Whirpool, Allis-Chalmers, Clark Equipment, and a few others all are significant names that have significant ties to the area.
Kevin Wolford
Plymouth, IN
55 Champion
60 Lark VI Conv.
63 Avanti R1
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