[AT] Tractor Weight (now Ramble - LONG)

Phil Auten pga2 at hot1.net
Thu Jan 13 18:15:30 PST 2005


Well, since I was raised in the "burbs", I only have one story to tell.
Back in 1964, our whole family took a trip up to Davison, Michigan
to my dad's family farm (his mother's family). This farm was home-
steaded by the Phillips family when Flint Township was frontier.
The year before a neighbor kid had burned the original log barn
just to watch. :o(
I helped harvest winter wheat riding on a JD tractor with a hand clutch
and either 6 or 8 forward speeds (CRS) pulling a grain wagon. Cecil
is 100% right about those dinners (lunch). I ate till I thought I would
bust, then came dessert. Got my first taste of rhubarb pie, MMMMM.
There was a 1960 Ford 1/2 ton pickup with a grain bin for a bed that
my dad drove to the elevator in 1st gear so he could stop when necessary.
Sure had that Ford's nose in the air!
The farm has been sold off now, only the farmhouse and farmyard remain.
There is a Centennial Farm sign in the yard. I seem to remember that
it was about 1855 when the farm was homesteaded. When we were there
in '64 the Centennial Farm sign was about the size of two license plates
and nailed to a huge oak tree by the driveway. The tree is gone now and
the sign is about the size of a sheet of plywood. My father's mother was
born in this house, grew up there and her wedding reception was held in
the parlor where, as family lore has it, there were so many guests around
the piano singing that the floor collapsed. I have looked for a picture of the
house, but can't find one right now. Maybe the next time this thread comes
up I'll have found one by then.

Phil

At 07:37 AM 1/13/05, you wrote:
>         I, for one, enjoy these stories. They are a link to the past
>as far as I am concerned and very enjoyable. As to finding a family
>tractor after many years have gone by, I wish you all the luck in the
>world.
><Snip>
>         Anhow, thanks for the stories. We all have them in us and it
>would be nice to hear some from those who don't write much.
>
>Cecil





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