Box 36, Stover, Missouri 65078.
Since 1958, we have been the proud owners of the 1949 Pony
Massey-Harris on the right in the accompanying photo. This tractor
was purchased for what we thought was a large sum of money ($500).
We used the Pony on my father’s farm for several years to haul
hay, pull the hay fork load into the barn, and to cultivate the
family sweet corn patch. After 1970, we left it in town all the
time, and used it to plow snow out of the neighbor’s driveway
and ours.
About ten years ago, after having used it regularly, we decided
it needed a coat of paint. A fellow Robert worked with it, gave it
this beautiful coat of paint, and handmade the decals, as they were
not available on the market at that time. This is my wife
Evelyn’s favorite, as she drives it regularly in parades and at
tractor shows we’ve attended in Missouri, Kansas, Iowa,
Colorado, Minnesota, Michigan, and Indiana. The Pony always brings
lots of comments, like ‘We used to have one of those,’ or
‘Where did you get such a smooth running, beautiful
tractor?’ It’s always easy to answer, as this is one of our
favorites.
We acquired the other Pony in the picture about a year ago, and
it was pretty much of a basket case. The fellow we bought it from
was quite honest. He said, ‘It hasn’t been run for a year,
and it didn’t run very well then.’ We hauled it home and
spent some time getting parts put on right and cleaning it up. One
fine day we decided it was time to start it, and immediately we
wished we hadn’t done that.
It necessitated a complete engine overhaul, bearings, and
innumerable other expensive, hard to find parts.
However, it now runs like a top, and we felt with all that done
to it, the next item was a paint job. This tractor got its shiny
paint job last winter and this time we were able to purchase the
decals.
With these two neat, shiny Pony tractors ready to go, we are
anxiously waiting for shows and parades so we can show off our team
of Pony Massey-Harris tractors.
Of course, these are not the only tractors in our collection. As
you find one, there’s always another one to challenge you to
fix it up. We also have other small tractors such as a Cub
Farm-all, John Deere LA’s, M, and H, Allis-Chalmers G’s, C,
and B., Avery V, Case VAI (from an air base-World War II), and our
latest purchase, another Pony Massey-Harris. These have all been a
challenge to get ready for shows and parades, but that’s what
keeps life exciting. We enjoy preserving these great old tractors
and the fellowship with collectors and tractor admirers throughout
the country.
We always enjoy meeting new friends, so if you find yourself in
the beautiful Ozarks in the middle of Missouri, look us up in
Stover and we’ll be glad to show them all to you. We might even
spend some time under a shade tree swapping yarns about all kinds
of tractor episodes of yours and ours. We could probably squeeze in
a tour of the 700 or so toy tractors we’ve acquired through the
years, and Robert would share the sound of a few of his old gas
engines, so plan to sit a spell and enjoy the fresh Ozark air and
reminisce about your favorite tractor with us.
