Willie Delauter and his son, Russ, struck out on their own in 1955.
To start the new W.F. Delauter & Son grading, backfilling and pond business, they would need a dozer.
They found a used 1954 International TD-6 that suited their needs and budget. The machine helped launch the company and remained in use until the mid-1980s.
In 1992, it got a second life as a Christmas present. And today it remains a monument for the company’s headquarters in Emmitsburg, Maryland.
Father and son had a deal back in 1955 when it came to running the business – and the TD-6.
“The deal,” according to Kirby Delauter, the company’s third-generation owner, “was my grandfather said, ‘Look, you get the work. I'll do the work.’