Guide to the A. C. Kern Collection, 1927-1939
Collection processed by Nicholas Jackson
San Joaquin County Historical Society and Museum
11793 North Micke Grove Road
Lodi, CA 95241
© 2011
Descriptive Summary
Title: A. C. Kern Collection
Date: 1927-1939
Date (bulk): 1935-1939
Collection number: Ms80
Creator:
Kern, Andrew Clarence, 1906-1979
Extent:
1.6 linear feet
Contributing institution:
San Joaquin County Historical Society and Museum
11793 North Micke Grove Road
Lodi, CA 95241
Abstract: The materials in this collection chronicle Andrew Clarence Kern’s employment with the Caterpillar Tractor Company. Kern was
initially hired by Caterpillar in 1925. He was transferred to the Eastern Sales Division in 1936 and became an Agricultural
Representative in 1938. The collection includes professional records, publications, and photographs.
Location: Erickson Vault
Language of material:
English
Administrative Information
Access
Collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
The library can only claim physical ownership of the collection. Users are responsible for satisfying any claimants of literary
property.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], A. C. Kern Collection, Ms80, San Joaquin County Historical Society and Museum, Lodi, California.
Related Material
Some Caterpillar Tractor Company manuals known to be collected by A. C. Kern are included in the Agricultural Technology Manuals
Collection in the Erickson Vault at the San Joaquin County Historical Society and Museum.
Biography
Andrew Clarence Kern was born in Pine City, Minnesota on April 17, 1906. In 1917, his family moved to a farm in Warsaw, Minnesota,
where he worked as a carpenter’s assistant. He moved to California in 1921. After living in Stockton for a brief period, he
moved to Lemoore and began attending high school. He left high school without graduating in 1923 to work as a truck driver
for Bradley Transfer in Escalon. In 1924, he returned to Stockton to work as a maintenance assistant for A. B. Humphrey.
The Caterpillar Tractor Company hired Kern on October 1, 1925. After working on an assembly line for six months, he was transferred
to the Experimental Department, where he worked as a mechanic for Caterpillar and its subsidiaries. From 1928 to 1929, he
worked for the Service Department in the United States and Canada. In January of 1930, he was transferred to the Export Department
and sent to Russia to work as a field engineer. He returned to the United States in October and continued his work with the
Experimental Department. He worked in the Credit Department from 1934 until 1936, when he was transferred to the Eastern Sales
Division. He was promoted to the position of Agricultural Representative in 1938 and served Caterpillar in the southern part
of Ohio, the western part of West Virginia, and the eastern part of Kentucky. Kern died in Sacramento, California on March
8, 1979.
Scope and Content
The materials in this collection relate to A. C. Kern’s employment with the Caterpillar Tractor Company between 1927 and 1939.
These materials include professional records and correspondence, publications, and photographs. Kern’s professional records
chronicle his training as a sales representative, his correspondence with Caterpillar employees, and his correspondence with
customers. The Caterpillar Tractor Company produced the majority of the publications in this collection. These publications
consist of brochures, catalogs, and ephemera; "Caterpillar" Sales Kits; maps; parts and price information; periodicals; and
reports. The photographs in this collection include images of A. C. Kern and images of Caterpillar equipment.
Arrangement
This collection is arranged in three series. Series 1 and Series 2 have been further arranged in subseries. The contents of
Series 1 and Series 3 are arranged chronologically and the contents of Series 2 are arranged alphabetically.
Access Points
Personal Name
Kern, Andrew Clarence, 1906-1979
Corporate Name
Caterpillar Tractor Company
Subject
Tractor Industry--United States
Caterpillar Tractor Company--Catalogs
Sales--United States
Professional Records
1927-1939
General Records
1927-1939
Box/Folder 1:1
Blueprints
October 14, 1927 – April 11, 1928
Box/Folder 1:2
Correspondence
September 19, 1934 – September 8, 1939
Box/Folder 1:5
Caterpillar Tractor Co. Eastern Sales Division Agricultural Field Organization
December 9, 1937 – September 19, 1938
Box/Folder 1:6
Sales Meeting Material
1937-1938
Box/Folder 1:7
Twenty-Two Tractor Specifications and Marketing Information
1937-1939
Box/Folder 1:8
D4 Tractor Specifications and Marketing Information
January 1938
Box/Folder 1:9
Diesel D2 Tractor Specifications and Marketing Information
May 12, 1938
May 18, 1938
Box/Folder 1:10
Agricultural Dealers' Training Program
December 23, 1938
Box/Folder 1:11
Current and Available Advertising Literature
February 1, 1939
March 20, 1939
Box/Folder 1:12
Agricultural Dealer's Agreement
1939
Box/Folder 1:13
Agricultural Dealers' Sales Charts
1939
Box/Folder 1:14
Agricultural Representatives' Duties
undated
Box/Folder 1:16
Employee Data Sheets
undated
Dealer Prospect Records
1938-1939
Box/Folder 1:19
Correspondence
January 21, 1938 – July 27, 1939
Box/Folder 1:20
Dealer Prospect File
March 3, 1938
March 11, 1938
Box/Folder 1:21
"Pay-Dirt" From Inquiries
March 21, 1939
Box/Folder 1:22
John Deere Branches
undated
Brochures, Catalogs, and Ephemera
Box/Folder 1:24
Caterpillar Tractor Co. Brochures
undated
Box/Folder 1:25
Caterpillar Tractor Co. Catalogs
undated
Box/Folder 1:26
Deere & Company Catalogs
undated
Box/Folder 1:27
Dunham Company Catalogs
1938
Box/Folder 1:29
Ford Motor Company Brochures
undated
Box/Folder 1:30
International Harvester Company Catalogs
undated
Box/Folder 1:31
Killefer Manufacturing Corporation Brochures
undated
Box/Folder 1:32
Letz Manufacturing Co. Catalogs
1937
Box/Folder 1:33
New York State Education Department Brochures
1937
Box/Folder 1:34
"Caterpillar" Sales Kit
July 1, 1935
Box/Folder 1:35
"Caterpillar" Sales Kit
May 11, 1936
Box/Folder 1:36
"Caterpillar" Sales Kit
September 4, 1936
Box/Folder 1:37
"Caterpillar" Sales Kit
April 26, 1937
Box/Folder 1:38
"Caterpillar" Sales Kit
June 20, 1938
Box/Folder 1:39
"Caterpillar" Sales Kit
September 20, 1938
Box/Folder 1:40
"Caterpillar" Sales Kit
December 27, 1938
Box/Folder 1:41
"Caterpillar" Sales Kit
April 1, 1939
Box/Folder 1:42
"Caterpillar" Sales Kit
May 1, 1939
Box/Folder 1:43
"Caterpillar" Sales Kit Supplements
1938
Box/Folder 1:44
Unsorted "Caterpillar" Sales Kit Materials
1935-1939
Box/Folder 1:47
Kentucky-Tennessee
undated
Box/Folder 2:1
Caterpillar Magazine
undated
Box/Folder 2:2
Caterpillar News
February 18, 1938
Box/Folder 2:3
Caterpillar Tractor Co. Partsgram
March 1, 1936
December 15, 1938
Box/Folder 2:4
Caterpillar Tractor Co. Servicegram
June 10, 1933 – April 1, 1939
Box/Folder 2:5
Country Gentleman
March 1938
Box/Folder 2:6
Diesel Power and Diesel Transportation
1937
Box/Folder 2:7
The Dotted Line
1933-1936
Box/Folder 2:8
Engineering Bulletin for the Instruction of Lubricating Salesmen
1938
Box/Folder 2:9
Events of the Week in Peoria
February 10, 1935
Box/Folder 2:10
Factory Serviceman’s Bulletin
May 13, 1938 – September 9, 1939
Box/Folder 2:11
Farm Journal
February 1939
Box/Folder 2:12
Farmers’ Bulletin
April 1938
Box/Folder 2:13
The Indiana Farmers Guide
February 11, 1939
Box/Folder 2:14
John Deere Tractor Field Service Bulletin
July 15, 1938
Box/Folder 2:15
News and Views: Caterpillar Employees’ Magazine
March 2, 1939 – August 17, 1939
Box/Folder 2:16
Caterpillar Annual Report for the Year Ending December 31, 1937
1938
Box/Folder 2:17
Caterpillar Annual Report for the Year Ending December 31, 1938
1939
Box/Folder 2:18
Report of an Inquiry into Changes in Quality Values of Farm Machines Between 1910-14 and 1932
June 1933
Tractor Parts Information
Box/Folder 2:19
Caterpillar Diesel D2 Pocket Manual
undated
Box/Folder 2:20
Equipment for Use with "Caterpillar" Tractors
July 1932
Box/Folder 2:21
Parts Catalog Supplements
undated
Box/Folder 2:23
A. C. Kern in the Soviet Union
1930
Box/Folder 2:24
Caterpillar equipment on the Henry L. Jackson farm
1936
Box/Folder 2:25
Unidentified photographs
undated
