In August of 2023 Lee Wray and Mark Russell of Russell and Sons Construction donated two bulldozer blades to the Greenwood County Historical Society. In March signage was put up for the smaller of the two blades, the “Center flow dozer blade prototype,” with signage for the Double Dude blade to come. The sign includes a QR Code to give viewers additional information about the blade and how it was used.

These two pieces of equipment are on permanent display on the museum lot directly west of the Historical Society Museum.

This specialized bulldozer blade was the test prototype of Russell & Sons’ patented Centerflow design. The blade fit a standard Cat D9H bulldozer and was built to be 20-30% more productive than other manufactured dozer blades commonly used in land reclamation of coal strip mines. The second objective of the Centerflow design was to significantly reduce weight via its innovative design and use of high tensile strength steel, which made the blade more complicated to build. This 17ft wide prototype weighs only 7,600lbs.

Russell & Sons soon recognized that it had the best talent and resources in Eureka to achieve its quality and production needs. The company began designing and building Centerflow blades the in early 1980’s at its shop on East 7th Street in Eureka, Kansas. The Centerflow blade provided a key competitive advantage that enabled Russell & Sons to expand its operations into five additional states by 1987.