[AT] Time to 'fess up

Cecil E Monson cmonson at hvc.rr.com
Fri Oct 15 04:24:25 PDT 2004


	I have an idea we have all screwed up at least once in our
lifetimes. Some things are better forgotten but some become comical
as time goes on. I had an incident as a 14 or 15 year old kid that
I tried for years to live down.

	My father had bought a 230 acre farm in 1943 and we were busy
rebuilding all the buildings. He only paid $32.50 an acre for the farm
which should tell you something about the buildings. Rebuilding was a
major project that involved a lot of concrete work. If there were any
redi-mix concrete companies in our area in southern Minnesota at the
time, I never heard of them. And my father was a great believer in
mixing your own by hand. So we mixed concrete for what seemed like
years. I still remember the mix - 5 scoops of sand, one of Portland
cement, and water to make it just right. Mix until thoroughly mixed
and dump it in the wheelbarrow for my father or my uncle to dump.

	We got our sand from the banks of a creek that ran thru the
property behind the buildings on the north side of the farm. Every
spring, the spring thaw would bring a lot of fresh light colored and
very clean sand and dump it on the banks of the creek where it made
it's turns. We hauled the sand to the mixer as needed with the Ford
9N and the rear mounted 3 point scoop. It was my job, when I wasn't
mixing concrete, to take the 9N down to the creek and haul sand.

	The process involved driving along the creek to the spot
where all the sand was, dropping the scoop, and getting a full scoop
of sand. My father said to be sure to stop the tractor before raising
the scoop as the weight of the wet sand would lift the front end if
you were moving. I soon figured out, hotshot that I was, that if I
lifted the scoop while still moving, not only would the front end of
the tractor come up off the ground but I could hit one of the brake
pedals and swing the tractor around while balanced on the rear wheels.
Once turned all the way around, all that was needed to drop the front
end was a slight movement downward on the hydraulic control lever. I
could really make good time by not stopping....

	The last time I did this, I dropped the scoop and picked up a
load of sand, the front of the tractor came up, I hit the right brake
pedal, the tractor came around, tried to get my foot off the brake
pedal but my pants leg was caught between the two pedals on the 9N.
Before I knew it, the tractor was almost all the way back around and
swinging out over the creek. In a panic I grabbed the hydraulic control
lever and when I did, I dropped the front end of the Ford into the
deepest part of the creek. The engine was running, of course, and I got
an instant shower when the fan hit the water. When everything stopped
and settled down, the tractor was pointed downward at about a 45 degree
angle with water over the entire engine. I was totally soaked. It was
not a good feeling and just the thought of telling my father was not
good. I considered heading north thru the fields and maybe getting work
somewhere or going to Canada and joining the Mounties but my father and
my uncle had heard the commotion and came running.

	My father and uncle came up to where I was in the creek, still
sitting in the seat and wondering what to do. My father didn't say
anything, just turned and walked back to the yard shaking his head. I
still wonder what went thru his head that day. We got the IHC 10-20 and
pulled the Ford out of the creek and up to the yard. It took a long time
to dry out the Ford and involved a lot of mechanic work to get all the
water out and to get it running again. Like I said, I tried to forget
this incident for quite a few years but it is still with me.

Cecil
-- 
The nicest thing about telling the truth is you never have to wonder
what you said.

Cecil E Monson
Lucille Hand-Monson
Mountainville, New York   Just a little east of the North Pole

Allis Chalmers tractors and equipment

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