Kern, Andrew Clarence, 1906-1979

Biography

Andrew Clarence Kern was born in Pine City, Minnesota on April 17, 1906. In 1917, his family moved to a farm in Warsaw, Minnesota, where he worked as a carpenter’s assistant. He moved to California in 1921. After living in Stockton for a brief period, he moved to Lemoore and began attending high school. He left high school without graduating in 1923 to work as a truck driver for Bradley Transfer in Escalon. In 1924, he returned to Stockton to work as a maintenance assistant for A. B. Humphrey.

The Caterpillar Tractor Company hired Kern on October 1, 1925. After working on an assembly line for six months, he was transferred to the Experimental Department, where he worked as a mechanic for Caterpillar and its subsidiaries. From 1928 to 1929, he worked for the Service Department in the United States and Canada. In January of 1930, he was transferred to the Export Department and sent to Russia to work as a field engineer. He returned to the United States in October and continued his work with the Experimental Department. He worked in the Credit Department from 1934 until 1936, when he was transferred to the Eastern Sales Division. He was promoted to the position of Agricultural Representative in 1938 and served Caterpillar in the southern part of Ohio, the western part of West Virginia, and the eastern part of Kentucky. Kern died in Sacramento, California on March 8, 1979.

From the guide to the A. C. Kern Collection, 1927-1939, 1935-1939, (San Joaquin County Historical Society and Museum)