RD 1, Millersville, PA 17551
This is the story of my 1938 John Deere A. The rusty old tractor
stood with many tractor in an overgrown, grassy lot. It was along a
secluded York County, Pennsylvania road. The tractor was not stuck
and looked like it was worth $400.00. The owner sold it to me,
guaranteed to run, in the summer of 1975.
The trip home was easy. A Dodge 4-wheel drive pulled the tractor
ten feet and it started. We backed the tractor on the trailer and
headed for home. People sure looked at what I’m sure they
thought was junk!
The old girl sure needed some work. It took a head rebuild job,
new pistons, valves, etc. I decided to tear it down and rebuild it
from scratch. Nearly all the parts were available from our local
John Deere dealer and from fellow collectors.
All during restoration, my grandfather took a keen interest n my
unusual hobby. He told me about the used John Deere A he bought
during the war. They were reliable and real work horses.
Grandfather was the only one in the family that wanted to see the
tractor restored in showroom condition. He didn’t laugh and he
didn’t make jokes. I finally got the tractor running in 1976
and Grandfather was tickled pink! He owned two farms which his sons
farmed. Of course, they had modern John Deere tractors. When the
38A was used, lo and behold, guess who drove??? He was 76 years old
and always drove the A in hay or straw harvest. Grandfather still
insisted that I should paint it to showroom condition. I promised
it would be before spring.
Spring came and the John Deere was not painted. My grandfather
did not live through the winter. His name was Chris K. Neff and
I’ll always remember his stories of yesteryear of farming with
two bangers. When I look at the shiny gears, I think of him.
The old reliable always starts and does its share. If the modern
tractors didn’t start in the winter, the A did on the third
pull. It threshed oats for fun. It disks corn stubble, pulls corn
wagons and picks up the stack when an extra tractor is needed.
This old tractor will never be sold. I’ve had a lot of
offers but my pride, my grandfather’s love and my father all
want her to stay on the farm. It rests on Neff Brothers, Inc. Farm
with all the modern Deeres.
The old tractors are built better, are easier to work on and are
reliable. The modern tractors are nicer and quicker, but in the
long run, will they be as good at 43 years as the old John Deere A
on the Neff farm?
