RR 4, Box 1043 Eufaula, Oklahoma 74432-9402
The story of my first John Deere tractor appeared in the January
’96 issue of GEM. This Model B tractor was taken to one show in
1995, the Enid Antique Power Show in Oklahoma.
At that show Mr. Dave Ray saw what had been done with the B.
Dave was finishing a career in the Air Force a traffic controller
at Vance Air Base, Enid, Oklahomaand was not at all interested in
his dad’s old farm, nor anything pertaining to the farm.
When I saw Dave later at a church gathering he asked me to go
get his dad’s old tractor.
I thought about it a long time. I wondered, can I handle another
tractor? Gee whiz! Another free tractor! I’ve got all the
tractor I need to take my boat to the water in the spring, and take
it out again in the fall.
After a long time of thinking about it I finally was taken to
see the tractor. THAT THING WAS HUGE! Another John Deere, a Model
‘A’ Serial #692795. Truly, the size of it scared me!
Well, I thought about it another long time! Finally, one day I
asked my neighbor, Frank Rhodes, if he would go with me to pick up
a tractor. Frank is the owner of two JD tractors, and has the same
use for them as I do, put the boat in the water, and take it out
again.
He said, ‘Yes, I’ll help you.’ With all of our
tools, a pressure tank full of air, we went to get the tractor.
Both of us knew the first thing to do is to remove those rear
brakes. That will let the drive wheels roll. Then we had to turn
one rear wheel inside out to make it narrow enough to fit my
trailer. Whew!! That two and one-half ton tractor was all the
trailer and half ton pickup could handle!
But it has been fun working on these tractors. When you get them
finished, and hear that good strong exhaust, you have a sense of
pride in accomplishment after a tractor has been sitting for untold
years.