This picture was in the AACA article and spoke of testing the chassis to see if it could handle the stress and weight of an operating backhoe. John Jr. is onboard do the testing in this shot. The green color was the original delivery shade from the factory and can still be seen on the inside of the cab. The cab had yet to be cut down at this point.

In talking with John Lafian Jr. he explained a little more on the circumstances of this picture. It was taken around 1985 and that is his son, who was 2 ½ years old on his lap. Here’s a quote from John.

“In this picture we had just got the boom assembled and working for the first time, and brought it home from Jackson's welding. This was a huge landmark in its history! Note that the triangular steel support under the main section of the boom was not there, we didn't know it was needed, and I bent the boom, and hydraulic ram when digging.”

Here are a few winter time pictures with the Power Hoe.

John Lafian's original intentions were to have the Power Hoe painted in a construction configuration as it was built for the commercial client. It was later painted Silver to compliment John Jr.’s construction company color.

This is a small scale mock up of the arm and bucket to be used for the Power Hoe. This piece is still with the original Power Hoe collection.