The Tractor Man

Jon Peterson loves tractors.

The 58-year-old farmer and his tractors are a familiar sight around Ventura County. He will pull out the collection regularly wherever people congregate--at an air show in Camarillo , at the Ventura County Fair, or at the drop of a hat if the curious appear at his Camarillo mushroom farm.

Peterson has more than 30 tractors, about one-third running at any given time, and a network of friends around the country who contribute to his hobby.

“If I can’t find him, I know he is probably out back playing with his tractors,” said his wife, Susan Peterson. “Since he was a little boy, he has always loved tractors. His grandfather would take him to the museum and he would want to stay outside and watch the tractor mowing the lawn.”

Peterson and the Topa Topa Flywheelers, a tractor enthusiasts club he helped start, annually participate in the county fair’s opening day parade. In fact, the red 1941 model “H” Farmall he uses at his Camarillo farm graced the Ventura County Fair poster in 1996.

Although John Deere tractors are dear to his heart, his old 1930 Hart Parr is his favorite with its decorative radiator cap that features outstretched wings.

Many of Peterson’s tractors are represented on a shelf inside his home as scale models. Many are handmade, like the 1941 Model “LA” John Deere Jon holds in his hand, which cost three times the $100 he paid a Malibu farm for an original, full-size version of the tractor.

But make no mistake, Peterson’s tractors do not just sit around looking pretty. They are still working to earn their keep. The Canadian-made “Cockshutt” tractor was fired up in March and, as the chalk marks announce, “Runs good.”