east iowa hart-parr co.
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Years of Operation: 1918 - At Least 1926
Years of Operation: 1918 - At Least 1926
![Picture](/uploads/7/3/6/3/73637781/published/1919-ad-hart-parr-aa-happel.png?1674145570)
The East Iowa Hart-Parr Company was the distributor for eastern Iowa. Their territory included about 30 counties lying in eastern Iowa and western Illinois. In 1919, they relocated to the corner of A Avenue and First Street East in Cedar Rapids. Bert Aston was the manager. After a few years, Bert moved to a larger territory (Aston Hart-Parr Co.) around Peoria, IL in 1922. August A. Happel then became the manager of the East Iowa Hart-Parr Company. Happel was already a Hart-Parr dealer under this distributor representing Benton county and moved his dealership to Cedar Rapids at this time. Additionally, the business also used the name "East Iowa Tractor & Implement Co. from at least 1920 - 1928. The exact dates and details are currently unknown, but by the 1930s, this had become part of August Happel's Oliver Farm Equipment dealership in Cedar Rapids.
The Tractor Train - 1921
A shipment of 100 Hart-Parr "20s" and "30s" from Charles City to Cedar Rapids was the largest single shipment ever made in the Mississippi valley. The special tractor train which arrived in Cedar Rapids at 5:30 pm Saturday represented an achievement of Bert Aston, local distributor for Hart Parr. The aggregate value of the tractors was between $125,000 - $150,000. On board the passenger coaches attached to the trainload of tractors were 100 dealers and farmers from east Iowa company's territory. Forty-one of these were from Dyersville and they left the train at Waterloo. A convention and banquet was held in Charles City before the train departed for Cedar Rapids. Members of the East Iowa Hart Parr Co. who attend the convention were Bert Aston, G.A. Bailey, R.C. Baker, C.L. Schnuerer, Art Shumway, and S.S. Seaton.
From the January 31, 1921 News Article, Cedar Rapids Evening Gazette
The Tractor Train - 1921
A shipment of 100 Hart-Parr "20s" and "30s" from Charles City to Cedar Rapids was the largest single shipment ever made in the Mississippi valley. The special tractor train which arrived in Cedar Rapids at 5:30 pm Saturday represented an achievement of Bert Aston, local distributor for Hart Parr. The aggregate value of the tractors was between $125,000 - $150,000. On board the passenger coaches attached to the trainload of tractors were 100 dealers and farmers from east Iowa company's territory. Forty-one of these were from Dyersville and they left the train at Waterloo. A convention and banquet was held in Charles City before the train departed for Cedar Rapids. Members of the East Iowa Hart Parr Co. who attend the convention were Bert Aston, G.A. Bailey, R.C. Baker, C.L. Schnuerer, Art Shumway, and S.S. Seaton.
From the January 31, 1921 News Article, Cedar Rapids Evening Gazette