When Darryl Lambertson was small child growing up in Oxford, his toy-of-choice was a red metal wind-up tractor produced locally by a father-son team named Dolecek.
‘I played with it all the time,? said the lifelong Oxford resident who turned 60 Saturday and resides on Moyer St. ‘It was my favorite toy.?
Today, Lambetson still has his beloved Dolecek tractor. In fact, he has two of them. Lambertson and his wife of nearly 39 years, Carla, saw the story about the Dolecek tractor in the Feb. 23 Leader and gave us a call to talk about their tractors.
Last week we reported that Ken Theobald, of Lexington, Kentucky, had purchased off e-Bay a toy tractor made in Oxford, Michigan in the early 1950s.
Theobald did some research and discovered the tractor was manufactured by John and Albert Dolecek, a father and son team of local tool and die makers who had a factory on Metamora Road, west of M-24.
It seems a limited number of these wind-up tractors were produced ? about 100 or so ? and they didn’t sell too well in their day, according to Theobald.
Other than the Dolecek family members he consulted with, Theobald discovered no one else seemed to know anything about these tractors or had ever seen one before. In fact, it seems Dolecek tractors are so scarce, not even the family has one in its possession, he said.
Lambertson got both his Dolecek tractors when he was a small boy. The first one he received at age 4 in 1949 courtesy of the U.S. Post Office.
Back then his mother, Rosie Lamberston, cleaned house for a Grace Nichols, who worked at the Oxford Post Office. It seems at the time there was an undeliverable or unclaimed package ‘kicking around? the Post Office containing a Dolecek tractor.
Knowing she had a little boy at home, Nichols gave Lambertson’s mother the tractor. ‘I played with that thing continuously,? Lamberston said. ‘I tied my little farm wagons on the back and ran them all over the house.?
When Lamberston was either 5 or 6 years old in 1950 or 1951, he received a second Dolecek tractor courtesy of another undeliverable or unclaimed package at the local Post Office. ‘I was in toy heaven,? he said. ‘Every time my friends, relatives and cousins would come over, they’d want to play with my tractors. I had to hide them.?
Lambertson recalls he played with the tractors until he was about 10 years old, when his interest turned toward an electric train set.
The Dolecek tractors remained packed away in the basement of his parents? Oxford home until the mid-1990s when he ran across them. He decided to keep them because ‘I had so much fun with them.?
Although they are both Dolecek tractors, there are slight differences between the two.
One has decals with the words ‘New Pione? on both sides of the body. Theobald said he was told some of the tractors had decals reading ‘New Pioneer? on them.
The tractor without the writing has rows of small vents on both sides of the body.
One tractor has a solid metal disc for a steering wheel, while the other has a split steering wheel. A brake-type mechanism that keeps the toy from moving when it’s wound up is located on the right side of one tractor and the left side of the other.
The wheels on the first tractor Lamberston received are solid rubber and still in great shape. They roll across the floor with ease. However, the tires on the second tractor were made of a softer rubber and disintegrated over the years. ‘It looks like they dried out,? he said.
Today, the tractor with the good tires is enjoyed by Lambertson’s grandchildren, Adam (6) and Hannah (5) Smith, when they come to visit from Ohio.
‘I enjoy seeing them play with it,? Lamberston said. ‘It reminds me of all the fun I had with them.?
Lambertson said eventually both tractors will probably be donated to the Northeast Oakland Historical Society’s museum in downtown Oxford.