Box 380A, Bainbridge, New York 13733
I am writing this for all the G.E.M. readers who read my story,
‘The Sad Little Tractor’ in the July-August 1979 issue. It
was a story written from the tractor’s point of view and told
how we came to have Johnny AR. Johnny AR was born in 1936 and had
spent the last few years of his life rusting away outside by an old
shed. My husband found Johnny AR and decided that Johnny was for
him. I gave the money to purchase Johnny AR to my husband for his
birthday a couple of years ago. He will tell anyone that asks that
Johnny AR was the best birthday present he ever received.
The story ‘The Sad Little Tractor’ ended when we brought
Johnny AR home. But that was not the end, only the beginning.
It really didn’t take too much work to get Johnny AR running
but he had to have his gas tank repaired and repaired and then
repaired some more. It was full of pin holes! He got a new muffler
and a few new hoses. Johnny’s head was cracked and that was a
bummer but believe it or not we found another head right in our
area. It took a long time but Johnny was finally fixed up and
running like new. Then came the hours of cleaning and getting him
ready for his new coat. My husband spent his entire vacation with
Johnny AR but Johnny has his new coat of paint and he is the most
beautiful little tractor you ever saw.
My husband’s brother has several antique tractors and
equipment including a reaper-binder and thresher. Johnny AR pulled
the reaper-binder and he supplied the belt power to run the
thresher. He did a fine job. His former owner stopped by to watch
and said Johnny AR was running just like the day he was new. Our
Sad Little Tractor is a Happy Little Tractor and we are mighty
proud of him.