Doctor’s Waiting Room Filled With Deere Collection
Joseph Oesterling grew up on an Indiana farm, and even after going to college and medical school, he never lost his love for Deere tractors. Today he has a large Deere memorabilia collection that fills every room at his medical clinic with green and yellow.
As Oesterling told Green Magazine that recently (www.greenmagazine.com), he started his incredible collection in the sixth grade with a single green tractor, one similar to his dad’s on the farm. His collectiongrew as he did, and so did his love for anything John Deere. At his Michigan office, the Midwest Prostate and Urological Institute, he now displays everything from the smallest Christmas ornaments to a life-sized copper deer from atop the original headquarters in Moline. A couple notable favorites are an 1871 Queen Prairie steel plow and a brass bell from the front of a locomotive which carried some of the earliest Deere supplies and equipment back in 1875. He also has a fully restored one-horse open sleigh from 1899 and an original doctor’s buggy and bag from 1900.
Oesterling is most proud of that doctor’s buggy. He acquired it through a friend, the owner of Hansen Wheel and Wagon in South Dakota. The buggy had been used in Geddes by a local doctor and was in such good condition it didn’t need restoration. Even the doctor’s original instruments are still in the bag.
“The response has been overwhelmingly popular. Patients love it,” says Oesterling. “Some of what we display comes from my patients, who want to display their own unique items.” His items have come from all over the country through auctions, Ebay, and other collectors who help him find the few items he doesn’t own yet. He looks for items in good, original and unrestored condition. Some patients find it a fun challenge to seek out new items to add to the collection, which isn’t an easy task. As for maintaining the treasures, Oesterling prefers to clean the collection himself.
The collection, as one might expect, has been a good investment. Not long after his office was fully decorated Oesterling came across an article that made him feel good about it all. It read “Collecting John Deere items is a better investment than the stock market,” referencing a Wall Street Journal story in April, 2008.
In addition to his medical practice, Oesterling also raises corn, wheat, soybeans and sugar beets with Deere equipment on his nearby farm. It’s here where the rest of his collection, mostly vintage tractors, large dealer signs, and horsedrawn equipment, is kept. Other unique items he owns come from an older patient who would take a full sized tractor home with him and create 1/4-scale tractors made of wood, finished with paint and matching decals. These one-of-a-kind models can be found near his collection of every kid-sized pedal tractor that John Deere has ever made, along with all the pull-behind attachments. Says Oesterling, “chances are if you can name it, it’s in my collection.”
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Dr. Joseph Oesterling, 1740 Midland Rd., Saginaw, Mich. 48638.
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Doctor’s Waiting Room Filled With Deere Collection AG WORLD Joseph Oesterling grew up on an Indiana farm and even after going to college and medical school he never lost his love for Deere tractors Today he has a large Deere memorabilia collection that fills every room at his medical clinic with green and yellow As Oesterling told Green Magazine that recently www greenmagazine com he started his incredible collection in the sixth grade with a single green tractor one similar to his dad’s on the farm His collectiongrew as he did and so did his love for anything John Deere At his Michigan office the Midwest Prostate and Urological Institute he now displays everything from the smallest Christmas ornaments to a life-sized copper deer from atop the original headquarters in Moline A couple notable favorites are an 1871 Queen Prairie steel plow and a brass bell from the front of a locomotive which carried some of the earliest Deere supplies and equipment back in 1875 He also has a fully restored one-horse open sleigh from 1899 and an original doctor’s buggy and bag from 1900 Oesterling is most proud of that doctor’s buggy He acquired it through a friend the owner of Hansen Wheel and Wagon in South Dakota The buggy had been used in Geddes by a local doctor and was in such good condition it didn’t need restoration Even the doctor’s original instruments are still in the bag “The response has been overwhelmingly popular Patients love it ” says Oesterling “Some of what we display comes from my patients who want to display their own unique items ” His items have come from all over the country through auctions Ebay and other collectors who help him find the few items he doesn’t own yet He looks for items in good original and unrestored condition Some patients find it a fun challenge to seek out new items to add to the collection which isn’t an easy task As for maintaining the treasures Oesterling prefers to clean the collection himself The collection as one might expect has been a good investment Not long after his office was fully decorated Oesterling came across an article that made him feel good about it all It read “Collecting John Deere items is a better investment than the stock market ” referencing a Wall Street Journal story in April 2008 In addition to his medical practice Oesterling also raises corn wheat soybeans and sugar beets with Deere equipment on his nearby farm It’s here where the rest of his collection mostly vintage tractors large dealer signs and horsedrawn equipment is kept Other unique items he owns come from an older patient who would take a full sized tractor home with him and create 1/4-scale tractors made of wood finished with paint and matching decals These one-of-a-kind models can be found near his collection of every kid-sized pedal tractor that John Deere has ever made along with all the pull-behind attachments Says Oesterling “chances are if you can name it it’s in my collection ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Dr Joseph Oesterling 1740 Midland Rd Saginaw Mich 48638
