| Gerald “Jerry” Alderman worked in the mid-1930's for Haffner and Lyle, an International Harvester dealer in downtown Lennon. He worked at this dealership when it was sold to LaMont Tiffney and then again to Walt Holowell in 1944. Jerry worked as part owner with Mr. Holowell until Holowell's son got back from WWII and came to work for the dealership. Jerry said that he did not get along well with the "bosses kid”. So, in 1946 he went out on his own to form Jerry’s garage with his brother Wayne.
The original building for Jerry's Garage was constructed in the fall of 1946 by Bernie Little and Park Chapman with the help of Jerry and Wayne. Jerry’s garage was primarily intended to be a passenger car gasoline and service station. Dave Granger was the first paying customer of Jerry’s garage paying 75¢ to have the carburetor adjusted on his Model A Ford. Selling White Rose gasoline and servicing automobiles, Jerry was able to support wife Dorothy and his growing family. That same year, Jerry and Wayne purchased neighboring lots on Maplehurst Ave just off Higgins Lake in Northern Michigan and built matching 2 bedroom cabins. Higgins Lake provided a weekend getaway for Jerry and Wayne and their families for 50 years.
Jerry and Wayne soon found it difficult competing with Jack McDowells much larger Standard gas station (also located in Lennon). The brothers found themselves spending much of their time repairing farm tractors and implements to supplement their business. In 1950, they made a decision to take-on the Minneapolis-Moline franchise. Minneapolis-Moline was one of the most well know tractor and implement brands of the time.
With Harold Bodine as thier territory manager, Jerry's Garage sold Minneapolis-Moline tractors, corn pickers, disk harrows, combines and the Moline Uni-Harvester. Suddenly, they could compete with Brungers, the local Alis-Chalmers dealer, the local John Deere dealer owned by Russ Clifford, and the International Harvester dealership in Lennon owned by Holowell and Nash. In 1950 the tiny little village of Lennon, Michigan had four farm implement dealerships.
An avid part-time farmer, Wayne Alderman purchased the first Minneapolis-Moline "R" tractor sold by Jerry’s Garage in 1950. Soon after, Alex Zisgo (who also worked at Jerry's Garage) bought his model "U". The first Minneapolis-Moline "Uni-Harvester" was sold to Adolph Neitzke of Grand Blanc, in 1953. A pioneer in farming, Mr. Neitzke was one of the very first farmers in the area to be able to pick, shell, and dry corn all on the home farm.
Louis Gath bought a Moline "G", and the first model 69 combine was sold in 1953. The self-propelled "S" model combine by Minneapolis Moline came next and sold for $4,650. It had a 12 foot cut and was a 6 cyl gas and had a round grain bin. In 1954 Moline introduced the "UB" diesel which was a large 41 horsepower. Many of theses popular tractors were sold by Jerry’s Garage.
In 1957, Holowell and Nash closed their doors. Soon after that, Jerry and Wayne Alderman made a trip to see a man named Loyster in Saginaw about acquiring the IH franchise. Mr. Loyster, who was a "big shot" at IH remarked that the Alderman boys didn’t look like the right type for the agricultural business. Mr. Loyster also hinted that some folks had paid a lot of money "under the table" to get an IH franchise. Jerry and Wayne stood by their morals and never did give Mr. Loyster any side money, but they were eventually given the IH franchise. Mr. Loyster reluctantly gave in and awarded Jerry and Wayne the International Harvester franchise because he said the boys looked young and enthusiastic.
The first International Harvester tractor sold by Jerry’s garage was a Farmall 350 to Bill Ackerman. Francis Osika bought a Farmall 350 that same year. Stuart White of Lennon bought a Farmall 450 not long after that. Jerry and Wayne repaired tractors in the shop, while Dorothy kept the books, sold parts, and made countless trips to the International Harvester warehouses in Lansing and Saginaw. Sometimes she would even make two trips per day in her green Ford pick-up truck. You would often see her with sons Ed and John in the front seat with her. The older boys Wade and Paul would help out at the store after school.
In 1961 Jerry’s garage purchased it's first Scout and also got the International Truck franchise. The first unit ordered was a Scout sold to Kermit and Betty Carey. They used their Scout to tow a trailer on their trip from Michigan all the way down to Nicaragua in Central America.
In 1959 the 460/560 series tractor was introduced. This was the first tractor to use one oil for hydraulic and transmission lubrication. Thus, this was the first year for what we now know as Hy-Tran. The 460/560 was a disastrous tractor for IH, in fact all 460/560 tractor were recalled, but it did help IH develop very successful tractor lines later on.
In 1961 the Cub Cadet garden tractor line was introduced by International Harvester as an off-chute of the very popular Farmall Cub series tractor. Jerry Alderman was very enthusiastic about the IH Cub Cadet brand and made it an integral part of the product. The Cub Cadet became very popular for its durability and versatility. The very first Cub Cadet had a 7 horsepower Kohler engine, it's Farmall Cub 3-speed transmission was powered by a belt, driven off the engine. There were several attachements that could be attached to it including a snow blade, a single bottom plow, and a small disk harrow.
In 1963 White Farm Equipment purchased Minneapolis-Moline and merged it with Oliver. A company named New-Idea purchased the Moline Uni-Harvester. In 1963 Jerry’s garage stopped selling Moline and started selling New-Idea Corn Pickers, manure spreaders, and hay tools.
In 1964 the 706 and 806 series tractors were introduced, and in 1966 International introduced its first four wheel drive, the 4100 series.
In 1967, after 4 years of teaching high school in Flint, Wade Alderman, the oldest son of Jerry and Dorothy decided to leave education and pursue a full-time career at Jerry’s Garage. Soon after, with help from Carl McKone and Larry Barber, construction was finished on the first addition of the original building, and Jerry’s garage was renamed Alderman’s Incorporated.
In 1970, the first International Hydro was introduced. In 1971 the first 400 air planter was introduced. In 1972 the first V-8 diesel was introduced along with the very popular 86 series tractor.
In 1972, Alderman's Incorporated began hosting a customer appreciation Openhouse during the second weekend in March. We annually invite customers and friends to join us for a delicious buckwheat pancake and sausage breakfast while enjoying the fun and fellowship. This is also when we finish off the pre-Spring selling season by finalizing our big parts discount program.
John Alderman, the youngest son of Gerald Alderman, began working for Alderman's incorporated in the parts department in 1974. John is now very busy as Parts Manager and is responsible for parts orders, inventory maintenance, and managing parts personnel. In 2004, John celebrated his 30th anniversary at Alderman's. Congratulations John!!!
1974 was the first year for the 715 combine.
The “Quiet Cab” came out on the 86 series tractor in 1976.
The revolutionary Axial-Flow rotary combine was introduced in 1977. To this day, the Axial-Flow combine continues to set the industry standard for combine technology today.
The popular 2+2 was introduced in 1978. Often refered to a "The Ant Eater". Many of these tractors are still being used yet today.
The IH Company was bought by the Tenneco Company in 1985 and merged with the Case Corporation. The new Company was called CaseIH.
International Harvester Company sold the Cub Cadet product to Modern Tool & Die, better known as MTD, in 1981.
To strengthen their presence in the plate-style planter market, Alderman's took on the Kinze Planter franchise in 1986. Francis Osika, the very first IH customer of Jerry's Garage, bought the very first Kinze planter from Alderman's in 1986. Alderman's Inc. and the KINZE planter have helped bring the concept of no-till farming to this area of Mid-Michigan. We make approximately 12 trips to Iowa with our truck each year to bring KINZE products to our customers.
When neighboring IH dealer, New Lothrop Hardware dissolved in the late 80's, along with it came a lot of new opportunities for Alderman's Inc. One such opportunity was the need for parts and service for an upcoming tractor brand named Kubota. Aldeman's Incorporated took on the Kubota franchise in 1988. This innovative brand of compact diesel tractors revolutionized the land owner industry and continues to
As the need for these service increased, Alderman's Inc. saw an opportunity to expand their customer base. Alderman's took on the Kubota franchise in 1988. The state of the art building that Alderman's Inc. is now housed in was designed by the collective employees of Alderman's in 1988 & '89. Alderman's moved into the facility in 1990. The new home of Alderman's Incorporated has brought increased prosperity to our business by allowing us to serve our customers better and more efficiently, house more parts inventory, and increase showroom space.
Alderman's Incorporated celebrated it's 50th Anniversary with an extremely well attended pig roast banquet. Over 1300 customer, family, and friends were in attendance. We all had a great time and it was a wonderful chance to reminisce about the good old days. We always enjoy hosting all kinds of gatherings at our store throughout the year.We enjoy taking Alderman's on-the-road as often as we can. We attend such events as the Shiawassee County Fair, the Saginaw County Fair, MSU's Ag Expo, the Owosso Home and Builder Show, and the Flint Home and Builder Show.
We host several events throughout the year such as our Hardi Sprayer meeting, our Yield-Till days, and our Lawn & Garden ride-and-drive.
As our market continues to change, Alderman's is changing as well. We have an ever changing lineup of machinery to offer the growers of the area. And as company's change hands and merge the names and colors of the machinery may change as well. One thing remains constant though; our commitment to our customers now and for future generations.
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