During the purchase of a 1967 John Deere 110 in 1997 Rick Herbers was bitten by a bug, not any old bug you'd find crawling around in your lawn.  He fell victim to the Collector's Bug.  Herbers, along with wife Mary, and son Tim had decided the cure would be to start collecting and restoring vintage John Deere riding lawn mowers.  After many frustrating months of searching through farm magazines and the internet for lawn and garden collector groups, they came up empty.  Herbers was convinced there had to be other garden tractor nuts out there, so he got together with a few friends and neighbors and formed a group.  In November 1997 Little G was born.  The club would be an outlet for collectors to find information, parts, and technical advice about restoring John Deere lawn and garden tractors.  The first members list was compiled; Rick Herbers, Tim Herbers, Jerry Kramer, Chris Kramer, Lloyd Droessler, and Joe Lansing.  The first matter at hand, what to call themselves.  Since the garden tractors were smaller in comparison to their full size counterparts, and all of the members owned John Deere's,  it was agreed upon to call the club Little Green.  But for fear of excluding garden tractor enthusiasts with other brands, it was decided to amend the name to Little G...the "G" now standing for 'Garden'.  Little G would welcome owners of all brands.  An ad was placed in Green Magazine to attract more members and as they say, the rest was history! 

"We kept getting calls and letters from people that said 'Thank you for starting this.  I thought I was the only crazy one'."   - Mary Herbers

    Why collect lawn and garden tractors?  Well, for years many people have collected farm toys as well as two cylinder tractors and both markets were getting a little pricy.  Little G would offer collectors an opportunity in between.  Lawn and garden tractors don't require special storage - they fit in a garage or basement.  They don't require special transportation - they fit in the back of a truck.  And best of all - they're affordable. 

    Herbers thought a garden tractor show would be a great way to attract additional collectors and find more parts and product manuals.  August 1998, 2 acres of the family acreage in Dyersville was transformed into the first Little G Expo.  Expo 98 proved to be an excellent opportunity for members, as well as the public, to get together and show off their collectables, buy and sell parts, and more importantly get to know one another.  Expo-goers spent the weekend on their mowers competing in skills tests and races and simply riding around the Expo grounds. 

    Little G Lawn and Garden Tractor Collector's Club has attracted well over 300 members. You can meet many of them the weekend of August 2nd and 3rd at Expo 2008 .  Exhibitors and vendors from 17 states, Canada, and Sweden are scheduled to participate.