Rogers, 112 Kimberly Drive, Frankfort, Kentucky 40601.
My late uncle, Bruce Brooks, from the Bagdad area of Shelby
County, Kentucky, purchased this 1948 Leader farm tractor new in
the spring of 1949. He used the tractor on his 80 acre farm
primarily for cultivating, harrowing, and many other related
chores.
During the summer of 1950, at the age of twelve, I helped out
with some of the chores on my uncle’s farm, at which time I was
taught to operate the tractor. I could not wait to get back each
summer, just to get to drive the tractor.
Even though my uncle sold the tractor in 1963, it remained here
in the Central Kentucky area. The second owner kept it in a barn
all those years and only used it on a limited basis.
I had the opportunity to purchase the tractor in December 1987,
and have since restored it to its original condition. Nothing was
spared as to the total restoration of this little jewel. It is now
used only for parades and is shown at steam and gas engine shows
throughout the Central Kentucky area.