[AT] McCormick plow

[Ron Cook]

Charlie,
     I had to do the chicken chores and milk the three cows.  Did not 
like any of that.  It was every day of the year.  My dad and the hired 
hands always got time off.  Not me.  I really liked the field work with 
the tractors.  Manual labor was not a favorite, like haying, weeding, 
cleaning hog houses, etc.
     My dad cut me off or discouraged me from farming every chance he 
got.  Mostly to his benefit I later discovered.  Turns out he was one 
heck of a selfish control freak type.  He succeeded with me and tried 
the same crap with one of my nephews I found out a couple weeks ago.  
Fortunately for my nephew, his granddad died a few years ago and gave 
the farm to his youngest son, a 1/2 brother of mine. With that change, 
my nephew is now able to join in the farming operation and is purchasing 
some ground in partnership with a brother.  And they are doing pretty 
well, I might add.
The family is actually helping, as it should.
     My 1/2 brother is now very wealthy and has retired at age 60. 
Spends time wasting money in casinos almost every weekend.  He has never 
had a job.  Just stayed home and did what dad told him.  Paid off big 
time.  But, I am ten years older and just might outlive him.  I have 
to.  Can't retire.  You just have to play the hand you are dealt to the 
best of your ability.  That is what I am trying. Working okay so far.

Ron Cook
Salix, IA
On 8/20/2014 8:19 AM, charlie hill wrote:
> I always went to school, my dad would ride the tractor
> during the day and I'd run it in the afternoons and on
> weekends.  We managed not to have to plow at night.
> I've gone in the field many a Saturday morning at the
> first dawn and come out at night with my way lighted
> by the blue flame coming from the top of the exhaust stack.
>
> I enjoyed it too for the most part.  Sometimes in the mid morning
> it got very monotonous but as the day goes on and you get
> tired you kind of get immersed in the work.  Or at least that's the
> way I remember it half a century later.  My biggest regret is that
> I didn't stick with it after my dad died.  I've tried about every kind
> of work there is except the kind I really always wanted to do.
> No one encouraged me or offered to help so I gave it up.
>
> Charlie
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Ron Cook
> Sent: Wednesday, August 20, 2014 2:14 AM
> To: Antique tractor email discussion group
> Subject: Re: [AT] McCormick plow
>
> Charlie,
>       Pretty much the same here.  Just larger tractors and larger farms.
> Same hours.  We had to plow in the fall before freeze up and after corn
> picking.  Around the clock for a couple weeks.  I rather enjoyed sitting
> on a D4 Cat  come sunrise after plowing all night and wave at the school
> bus as it went by the field.  They went to school and I went home to bed
> for awhile.  The Cat belonged to an uncle, but when we were getting late
> into cold weather it came into play on our farm.  I was usually on a
> John Deere A and later a John Deere 70.  But when the ground was
> freezing, the wheel tractors ran out of traction and the D4 could run a
> little longer.
>
> Ron Cook
> Salix, IA
>