BORSHEIM, Hans Theodore, 80th Birthday Anniversary

BORSHEIM, MOORE, HYLDEN, HANSON

Posted By: Karen Feldt Robertson (email)
Date: 4/7/2018 at 21:00:16

St. Ansgar - Hans Theodore Borsheim was honored when relatives and neighbors gathered to observe his 80th birthday anniversary. Dinner at noon was attended by his son, Harold Borsheim, wife and daughters, Sarah and Laurie, of Waterloo; Mr. and Mrs. Elling Torblaa of St. Ansgar and Mrs. Forrest Hull, a sister of Mrs. Borsheim from La Crosse, Wis.

Open house in the afternoon was attended by relatives and friends. Assisting Mrs. Borsheim were Mrs. Ervin Dieterich and Mrs. Carl Kittleson.

Mr. Borsheim was born in 1881 on a farm three miles south of St. Ansgar on the place now owned by Lawrence Dieterich. He was graduated from the St. Ansgar High School in the spring of 1900 and from Ames with a degree in mechanical engineering in 1904.

In 1908, he was married to Miss Gena Hanson, St. Ansgar. She died in 1957. In 1959 he was married to Mrs. Ole Hylden, Grafton S.D.

Mr. Borsheim spent most of his active life as designing engineer on farm and industrial tractors with the old Hart-Parr Company of Charles City and the John Deere Tractor Company of Waterloo.

On entering employment with the John Deere Tractor Company in 1919, he was assigned to the development of their first tractor, known as the Model D. He also supervised the first tractor test under the Nebraska state law. In 1932 the row crop tractor principle became evident and a new line of equipment had to be designed and developed.

After retiring from the engineering profession in 1952, he returned to his home town of St. Ansgar and operated the St. Ansgar Plumbing and Heating business for three years and later was employed by the town of St. Ansgar doing various part time jobs.

Borsheim has two other children who were unable to be present for the day. They are Dr. Raymond Borsheim, San Antonio, Tex., and Mrs. W.R. Moore, Detroit, Mich.

St. Ansgar Enterprise; March 22, 1961

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NOTES:

It appears that Hans was the chief engineer at Peru Wheel Company in Peru, Illinois, in 1938-40 ?,
and designed a tractor for Sears Roebuck, which Peru Wheel Co. manufactured. Only 500 of those tractors were actually made, in 1938-39.

Based on information from Dave Elmore, April, 2018.