Venetia man paints his tractor red, white & blue
Gary Jordan of Venetia loves his lawn tractor. What he didn’t love when he purchased the Hushquarna two years ago was its brilliant orange color or the gray wheels.
“I couldn’t live with the orange,” Jordan said as he viewed the lawn tractor in his four-car garage that is also home to his two personal vehicles, and two sporty and highly-prized Chevrolet Corvettes.
When Jordan purchased the tractor from Jefferson Hills Lawn Equipment he knew the color would not remain. That is when he thought of Bruce Harvey who does custom car work. Once the new lawn tractor was delivered to Harvey, Jordan was asked what colored he wanted.
“My favorite colors are red, white and blue. I love red, white and blue,” Jordan said. That’s when Harvey went to work.
Seven weeks later, Jordan received a call that the patriotic design on his lawn tractor was complete.
There are 82 white stars on a blue background on the cowling, or the engine hood. Red and white stripes cascade across the rest of the tractor with the exception of the seat that remains black. Jordan said it took Harvey 40 hours to complete the design and paint job. It required taking the tractor completely apart. The total cost was $1,500. Jordan said it was worth every penny.
“It’s a whole lot of art, way more than I ever expected,” Jordan said. The retired supervisor of records for the former Landmark Savings Bank also purchased four new wheel colors and the lawn tractor was complete.
When he mows his more than acre lot, Jordan said drivers will often pass and flash him a thumbs up. Some even drive off the road on the berm as they stare at the tractor.
“I worry about them hitting my mailbox,” he said, adding that although he is not a military veteran, he picked the red-white and blue theme for the vets.
“I love that thing,” Jordan, 66, said of the tractor. His excitement is not shared by his wife, Glynis. She also does not share his enthusiasm about the Corvettes.
“She feels a car is just transportation,” Jordan said as he stood in the heated garage. The place is where the tractor is stored following a complete wash job after he mows.
“Initially, I thought I’d buy a lawn shed and keep it there, but once I saw that paint job, I said it had to be in the heated garage,” he said.
With Veterans Day Nov. 11, Jordan said he has only a few more times to mow this season. He’s not sad because in a few months, he knows the grass will begin to grow again. And until then, he can always go to his garage, pull the covering off the lawn tractor and admire the shiny paint job.