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Few of the names of those who worked behind the scenes in this industry have stood the passage of time like Harry Merritt's, a big man who has been credited with, among other things, the mechanization of small farms.

Born Aug. 28, 1881 in Vermont, IL, Merritt became an expert in steam engines and threshers. This helped him become a top Hart-Parr tractor salesman, and in 1911 he moved on to open a branch in Great Falls, MT.

Hart-Parr was a leader in the tractor industry, but as the industry evolved it was among a handful of firms that remained devoted to gigantic tractors.

Merritt sold the machines to huge wheat farms, where he began to see a trend toward smaller tractors. He figured he could sell twice as many tractors if they weighed 50% less. Merritt and the Hart-Parr sales manager at the time made some drawings and presented their ideas to company founder Charles Hart. Hart was not only unimpressed with the suggestion, he was livid. As the shredded drawings drifted to the floor, Hart declared that when a new Hart-Parr tractor was built, it would be even bigger.

The industry was changing. Hart-Parr eventually offered the compact Little Devil ('let the Devil do your work,' said the ads). The machine was such a disappointment the firm condemned every Little Devil it could buy, but soon found itself in financial trouble. In 1919 Hart was ousted, and the new management said good-bye to most of the sales force, including Merritt ' by then the sales manager at the office in Charles City, IA.