Tractor Trivia
Chopping Corn
I have classic tractor fever. It is that “disease” that some of us tractor collectors get. You get a tractor and then you want another and so on. As I prefer John Deere I have listened to stories, read books, and watched movies about many other brands and the men and women who love them. I love John Deere but I am not prejudiced when it comes to tractors.
A few years back I I purchased an H Farmall and enjoy using it around the yard. I used it for seeding the next spring, and most later did a little baling hay. Many years ago I had to ask dad if he had ever driven an H Farmall before the one he had purchased from Steen Birkeland when I was a kid. The answer was, yesApparently back around 1950 or so when dad lived on the Sheep Ranch south of Clearbrook, they had hired Herbert Magnusen to chop their corn. He had a GP John Deere and a Gehl corn chopper. The neighbor, Bill Johnson, was there too helping to haul silage wagons with his H Farmall. Dad was using their 1949 B John Deere to haul also. When they finished up the corn chopping the crew was heading to the neighbors, The Stanke’s, to continue chopping. My dad was a bit tractor crazy, just like me. He asked Bill if maybe they could switch tractors, Bill’s H for dad’s B, and drive each other’s tractors to the neighbors. Dad was a John Deere man, but he said that H was pretty fun to drive down the road! Now when I start my H and take it for a ride….I know exactly what he is talking about!
This reminds me of a story when I was growing up on our dairy farm we occasionally grew some corn to chop. Dad bought a one row IHC corn chopper and two wooden silage wagons at the Bob Johnson Sale, south of Clearbrook. You had to fill the wooden wagon, which had a “false front’. It had an endgate like a gravel dump truck that was attached at the top. Under the load you would run a cable, when the wagon was brought to where you wanted to unload you would attach another tractor or whatever to the cable and pull the ‘false front’ back until the silage slid out through the wooden tailgate. Then you would slide the “false front” back to the front of the wagon and fill it again!! I am getting tired just thinking of all the hooking and unhooking of wagons, and the cable, and sliding thinks back in place!!
Well one year we had trouble with our chopper and had corn to chop and did not know what to do. We decided to call some close family friends from Red Lake Falls, the Bud and Gladyce Huot family. They had a big dairy farm northwest of RLF, and did a lot of corn chopping. Gladyce and my mom were high school friends and neighbors when they were young and luckily for me they had stayed friends over the years and I got to know their kids. Danny, Darla, Denise, Darin, Deann, Denette, Dwight, Delray, Doreen, and Darcy I am glad to say are friends of mine! One fall day Bud made the 33 mile road trip with his 2290 Case, New Holland Chopper, and two big front unloading wagons and came to our farm to chop! How exciting to have the big Case and wagon humming through the fields. Like I said farmers are pretty famous for helping each other out, now in order to pay back Bud, my mom who taught in Red Lake Falls would go over to The Huot’s Farm after school and haul wagons for Bud while he chopped corn.
Then on the weekends I would go over and do the same. When it would get dark and we would quit for the night, and the Huot’s milking was done all of us “kids” would go down to the basement and play and talk until the wee hours of the morning. What fun!! I guess farming is pretty hard work.....but when I look back on most if it, it was just fun!! I sureI wish I could turn back time and jump in that Chevy pickup with Dwight, go hook onto a big wagon of sweet smelling silage and haul it up to Danny so he could blow it into the silo! Wow!! That‘ we called fun on the farm when I was growing up!
How about a little tractor trivia.
1.The model B John Deere was manufactured in what town?
2. In 1949 the Model B John Deere had a _____ speed transmission.
3.The H Farmall was manufactured in what town?
4. The H Farmall had a ______ speed transmission.
5.The H Farmall had 24.17 drawbar hp. The Super H increased the drawbar hp to ____________.
Answers: 1. Waterloo, IA 2. 6 speed 3. Rock Island, IL 4. 5 speed 5. 30.69hp
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Eric Mickelson
Green Magazine
RIchard's Publishing
Oklee, MN 56742
218-791-9157