Gerald McCathern’s letter to Mr. Small At the Smithsonian

Dear Mr. Small,

In 1979, as National Wagonmaster, I led over fifty thousand farmers to Washington, D.C. to protest failing agricultural policy.  Farmers drove over five thousand tractors from as far away as Oregon, California, North Dakota, Texas, Oklahoma, Minnesota and twenty-nine other states and parked them on the Mall for over a month in the largest agriculture protest in history.

Later, upon request from Smithsonian representatives, the tractor which I drove from Texas was presented to the Smithsonian Museum as a gift from the nation’s farmers to commemorate that very important historical event as well as to update the agricultural exhibit.  We were told that the tractor would be placed on display and remain forever. 

The tractor represents a very important part of agriculture history and is viewed with pride daily by hundreds of citizens from all across the United States.  As an example, three bus loads of young adults from Texas recently visited the nation’s capital, sponsored by the Texas Rural Electric Co-op, and they informed me that the highlight of their visit was when they viewed the tractor and read the names of their fathers and grandfathers who were involved in the protest.

I have been told that you now plan to remove the tractor from the museum and replace it with a Pontiac convertible which has no significant historical value.  I was also informed that the reason for the change was because the Smithsonian has been promised over a million dollars by the family which owns the convertible.  That saddens me because I have always been told that the Smithsonian is not for sale.  Now it seems that even the Smithsonian has a price.

I hope that you will review the decision to remove the tractor, and do whatever is necessary to see that the Smithsonian respects and upholds its agreement with the farmers.

Thank you,

Gerald McCathern
Herford, TX

Please feel free to use information in Gerald’s letter to write one of your own and send it to Mr. Small—snail mail, e-mail, phone, whatever.