A few days ago, I asked my father in law if he would write a story for my blog about one of his old tractors. He sounded intrigued but reluctant. I didn't push, and figured that he would just forget about it. Imagine my surprise and delight this morning when I walked into the barn, and he handed me a piece of paper! Here is the first intstallment of stories from guest bloggers about life on "our" farm...
"The Ferguson TO 30"
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| My father in law on the old Ferguson TO 30, on the day he sold it -2010 |
The Ferguson that I had, my Father purchased slightly used in the early 1950's. It had three speeds in each of it's four gears, plus three speeds in reverse.
We used the TO 30 to plant tobacco, because it went real slow in first gear, low. I also used it to plow (with a two-bottom plow), rake hay and load manure. It had a Sauder loader (made in New Holland) that was very quick to take on and off.
When I would plow, for entertainment, I would drive over the soft, plowed ground and let the clutch out quick. The front end would rear up and land softly on the plowed ground. I had alot of fun with this tractor!
The TO 30 was very fast on the road...but one humbling experience was when I got into a road race with a young Amish boy in his buggy. To make a long story short, I simply got beat! He had a very fast horse!
I have many memories with this tractor. The tractor got sold locally, so I still see it from time to time!"
Thanks, Lloyd, for a trip down memory lane!
