Butch Remembers Neighborhood Farm Tractors

   A few years ago I wrote a column about the 1951 Farmall Model H tractor that I purchased in 1999. My Dad had one of those, and it was the first tractor that I drove at age 13 … to plow, disc, mow, and pull a hay wagon. When I go out to the barn each spring, I keep my fingers crossed that the old Farmall will start up for another year of work, and it hasn’t disappointed me yet … It has been working the last 74 years!

  When I was growing up, quite a few farmers used those red Farmall tractors in the Darlington neighborhood. They were strong, reliable, and easy to work on, and there was an International Harvester dealership in town, first owned by Ray Anderson and then later on by Bob Lehe, for parts and service. Of course there were several other makes of farm tractors around that were used by our neighbors. Many farmers had a Ford model 8N, gray and red in color, which were smaller tractors used for various jobs. My Grandpa Dale owned a Ford 9N, which was all gray. Many people still have one of those small Ford tractors, which they use primarily now for mowing.

   My uncle, Lloyd Wells, who lived across the road from us, had a John Deere tractor, green in color of course. I’m not sure what model it was (possibly a Model B or G), and it had a hand clutch lever that confused me in comparison to Dad’s Farmall which had a foot clutch. The John Deere had a distinctive sound, which my brother Gary could imitate exactly. Down the road from our farm, Norman Coltrain used an Oliver 88 Row Crop, also green in color, with red lettering…a very sleek-looking tractor.

   Other makes of tractors in our vicinity included Case (orange in color), Minneapolis Moline (yellow in color), Allis-Chalmers (orange in color), Massey-Harris (red and yellow), and Cockshutt (light yellow and red). One farmer owned a Co-op E3 model (red in color), which I believe was actually a Cockshutt tractor that was rebadged. There were other makes of farm tractors, such as Avery, Graham-Bradley, Silver King, and Gibson, just to name a few, but I don’t recall seeing any of those in our area.

  Most all of these were gas tractors, but a few used diesel fuel. As the number of farmers declined through the years, and the remaining farmers tilled more land, tractors increased in size. In the mid-1960s, Dad owned a Farmall H, a Farmall Super M, and a Ford 8N…all relatively small, but sufficient for the 160 acres that he farmed at that time. The new tractors coming out then were larger and more powerful…and more expensive. In 1966, Dad decided that he could no longer make a living as a small acreage farmer and still provide for our family of five kids. I graduated from high school in the spring of that same year, got married that fall, and started my college days at Purdue. While working at National Homes, I also helped my father-in-law, Hal Clark, who lived south of Clarks Hill. He farmed 500 acres, and raised purebred Yorkshire hogs. In 1965 he had purchased a John Deere 4020 diesel that could pull a 4-bottom plow. That is the tractor that I used for the next few years, and it was a great tractor!

   The farmers today farm thousands of acres and use enormously large tractors that cost a fortune. Very few farmers have the know-how to work on these, and must rely on the local dealerships for repair and service. But these new tractors can till and plant fields in record time. When you meet one of these giant tractors coming down the road, you had better hope they pull over…as they take up the entire roadway!

    I have thought about buying a new small tractor, but even those are beyond my price range. No problem…I am happy with my old Farmall H. It is faded and has a few dents and dings…just like me, and it takes a while to get started in the mornings…just like me…but I love it. When I am driving that tractor, I feel like I am 13 years old again and helping my Dad.

    I know that the old style tractors will probably never make a return, but when they were around, they were certainly colorful, had a lot of individual character, and sure did the job….and a big thank you to those of you who have restored them to their former glory!

John “Butch” Dale is a retired teacher and County Sheriff. He has also been the librarian at Darlington the past 36 years, and is a well-known artist and author of local history.