87 Old S. Salem Road, Ridgefield, Connecticut 06877
To celebrate our 80th year in the florist and nursery business,
my brother John and I decided to restore our tractors. Since we
operate on a slightly restricted cash flow (as a polite banker
would say), only one tractor was purchased new in 1949. What a big
day that was! The rest were given to us or purchased second
hand.
All the tractors are used regularly in our business except for
the two McCormick Deerings. I’m on the 1923 McCormick Deering,
as you all remember, it starts on gas and then runs on kerosene and
water. Glen Baxter is on the 1937 0-12fewer than 2500 of this model
were made.
The ’41 Ford has a homemade welder on it from a World War II
airplane generator. Jeff Shaw is on the ’48 Ford which has a
Henery back hoe on it. My son Seph is on the ’51 Ford we
purchased with 575 hours on the hour meter.
The ’61 Ford is our newest model. Deiter Segmuller is our
photographer.
I enjoy reading GEM as not too many people in
our non-farming community relate well to someone who likes to wear
grubby clothes and watch wheels go around. How many of you good ole
boys have a 13 year old dog that runs to the rear of the barn with
you to help start the 15-30? Maybe he senses the excitement of the
occasion.