P.O. Box 195 Athol, MA 01331
The tractor on this month’s cover is a 1930 Model G Centaur
tractor, photographed by Lisa Freitag of Warwick,
Massachusetts.
My sons and I restored the tractor over the last few years in
our spare time, with the help of a couple of generous GEM readers.
We used it to pull one of the water wagons at the 1987 Central
Mass. Steam, Gas and Machinery Association Show at the Orange
Airport and received many nice comments on the tractor. We even let
Lee Pedersen take it for a short drive! (He did fine.)
The photos at right are from that show. At the top of the page
is me with my ‘engine show hat’ talking with a former owner
of the tractor, Mr. George Atherton, now 79 years old. He told me
some great stories about the tractor, including one about the time
he flipped it upside down after getting the front drive wheels
tangled in a huge grapevine. He was not seriously injured.
Next is my son Jim talking to a man whose father sold the
tractor to Mr. Atherton around 1935. It was like old home day for
this tractor!
Finally, my son Jim giving Lee Pederson some last minute
instructions before ‘blast off’. Riding on the water wagon
is Tom Swan; a local ‘Mud Bog’ racing champion. After
piloting his 429 cubic inch Ford pickup through the bog on a
regular basis he knew Lee’s driving would be relatively
tame.
At right, a company brochure.