WATERLOO -- John Deere is getting set to celebrate another milestone in its long history in the Cedar Valley.

Moline, Ill.-based Deere is planning celebrations this September to mark its 90th anniversary in Waterloo.

"This is a great time to be in the agricultural business, and we've received much from the Cedar Valley in the 90 years we've been here," said Dave Rodger, who took over for Pat Pinkston as general manager of Deere's Waterloo operations a little more than a year ago. "Our success is a testimony to the innovation, energy and support of the people in the Cedar Valley, and we appreciate those efforts. So, we're going to celebrate our business success with a barbecue and employee events, but it's really a celebration for the entire community."

Indeed, Deere is planning an all-day celebration for current and former employees, as well as the public, Sept. 27. Company officials are trying to stage a range of festivities on the grounds of the new RiverLoop Exposition Plaza, if the new project is completed by then, said Kevin Keith, the company's human resources manager.

"That's what's a little up in the air right now," said Keith, who is organizing the anniversary celebration. "We're working with the city to get the south half of it done. (Waterloo Mayor) Tim Hurley really has done a good job to try to get that done."

If the grounds aren't ready, the Sept. 27 event likely will be held near the future Cedar Valley TechWorks development on Westfield Avenue, Keith said.

There will be something for young and old, Keith said.

"It will be a series of displays about John Deere in Waterloo," he said. "There will be different food vendors, music, antique tractor displays, a blacksmith exhibition, a lot of different things for kids and adults."

One of the events planned is a virtual-reality demonstration, Keith added.

The event also may set up some displays in the Five Sullivan Brothers Convention Center, across the street from the new expo grounds, he said.

All 5,000 current and 6,600 former employees at the Waterloo operation have been invited, as will be the general public, Keith said.

It will be a day-long event, running roughly from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Keith said.

"It's really kind of an open event," he said. "People can just come when they want.

The celebration will cap a yearlong observance of the anniversary, Keith said.

"Internally, we've been running some communications about it," he said. "A lot of it has been king of historical things about the company and some legacy things, noting that a lot of people here, their parents and grandparents had worked here. It's been talked about and it's referenced a lot as people make comments."

But, he added, the company, in a sense, has been keeping the whole thing in perspective.

"We're saving a little bit for the 100th anniversary," he said.

Deere has been in Waterloo since March 14, 1918, when it bought the Waterloo Gasoline Engine Co., maker of the " Waterloo Boy" two-cylinder tractor, for $2.35 million. Today Deere has multiple plants in Waterloo and a Product Engineering Center in Cedar Falls.

Contact Jim Offner at (319) 291-1598 or jim.offner@wcfcourier.com.