Meet Sherry Schaefer

Tractor enthusiast, pilot, author, and... The Oliver Girl.

Sherry Schaefer, a known expert in the field of tractors, equipment, and the history behind them, is the CEO of 3-Point Ink, LLC, a publishing company based in Illinois that produces Oliver Heritage and Heritage Iron magazines, both of which are circulated worldwide. She is a Greenville, Illinois, native who grew up around tractors and equipment. Her grandfather, Ervin Schaefer, was an Oliver tractor dealer in both Granite City and Hamel, Illinois, from 1936 -1965. Her father, Oliver "Ollie" Schaefer, aka: The Oliver Legend, was known far and wide as a used Oliver tractor and equipment dealer in Greenville. The Schaefer family also owned and operated a national tractor pulling sled service for more than 25 years beginning in the late-1960s.

Experience

June 2023 marked 30 years Schaefer had been an editor of a tractor-related publication. In 1993, she became the editor of the Hart-Parr Oliver Collectors magazine, which focused exclusively on the Oliver brand of equipment. Her experiences with this magazine added to her already solid foundation of knowledge and inspired her to begin her own bi-monthly Oliver publication in 2004, Oliver Heritage. Four years later, Schaefer formed 3-Point Ink, LLC and also launched a second publication, Heritage Iron magazine, which focuses on tractors and equipment of all brands from the 1960-1990 era.

Author Contributions

Schaefer has authored multiple books including, Farm Tractor Collectibles (MBI Publishing, 1998), Oliver Tractors (MBI Publishing, 2001) and Classic Oliver Tractors: History, Models, Variations & Specifications 1855-1976 (Voyageur Press, 2009). Her fourth book was a second edition printing of Classic Oliver Tractors (Octane Press, 2018). She contributed to A Guide to Hart-Parr, Oliver, and White Farm Tractors 1901-1996 by Larry Gay, Oliver Farm Tractors by T. Herbert Morrell, Oliver Photographic History by April Halberstadt, and Ultimate American Farm Tractor Data Book Nebraska Test Tractors 1920-1960 by Lorry Dunning. She was also a contributing author to the Red 4WD Tractors book 1957-2017 published by Octane Press in 2017.

Achievements

Throughout the years, Schaefer’s achievements include selection by the Smithsonian Institution to assist with the preservation of the oldest mass-production gasoline tractor in existence, along with being highlighted in the 45th anniversary special edition (Feb/Mar 2015) of Country Woman magazine as one of the top “45 Amazing Country Women.” Her sense of adventure has taken her across the world, including a three-week tractor drive across the Australian outback, a trip to Scotland to speak to the descendants of the Oliver family, and most recently another speaking engagement took her to New Zealand.

Hobbies

As an instrument-rated pilot, she is able to incorporate her passion for aviation into the business by flying across the country to interviews and events. In December 2019, Sherry completed a two-week accelerated course to obtain her A&P, meaning she is now also a certified aviation mechanic. In her spare time, she crews for a TBM Avenger, a WWII torpedo bomber based in Peru, Illinois, and volunteers on the LST-325, the last fully operational WWII Landing Ship Tank, based in Evansville, IN.

Favorite Interviews

Sam White, Jr. – Former President of Oliver
Jon Kinzenbaw – Kinze Manufacturing
Elmo Meiners – M&W Gear
Therran Tallman – Tallman Baler
“Big Bud” Nelson – Designer of Big Bud
Ollie Cunningham – Grandson of J.D. Oliver
Lou Leviticus – NE Tractor Test Lab Director & Holocaust survivor
Ray Bostedt – Director of Printing Dept. at Oliver
Max Armstrong - Ag Broadcaster/TV Personality
Ward McConnell - McConnell Mfg/Artsway Mfg.
Dave Curtis - Rite Mfg.
Doug Steiger - Steiger Tractor Co.
Captain Robert "Bob" D. Jornlin - LST-325