HAPPY NEW YEAR

I think folks my age get nostalgic when another year passes. I was just thinking that my dad wasn't a farmer, but we lived in the country and had some good friends who farmed. When I was a kid in the 50's, I jumped at the chance to visit them and help with the chores. They had a 1945 John Deere "A" flywheel start that I learned to drive shortly after I learned to walk, ha! I remember raking hay and pulling hay wagons before I was big enough to turn the flywheel.

I will soon be 70 and some of my favorite memories are of the 2 cyl sound, the smell of the tractor fuel exhaust, and of the old Deere blowing smoke rings when it idled.

I really enjoy reading the posts on this forum and hearing about other people's experiences and they are doing now. I hope all of you have a HAPPY NEW YEAR

Happy New Year to you Samtn1,

I grew up on a small grain farm and orchard, vegetable farm. It was Dad's home place. Tonight will be him and mom's first night in Assisted Living. We moved a lot of their belongings today.

Anyway back to memories, yes we walked outside around the buildings talking about years past. There were four in my family and the youngest is now 49. We grew up with IH tractors, A,H,M, 560 Diesel, 460 gas (which was a piece of you know what) no comparison to the 560 Diesel. I mowed the orchards for years with the Farmall A that my Grandfather had bought new in 1940. It was a hand crank start. We sooned learned to park it on a hill between uses to pop start it. I remember the first time my dad let me use the 560 to disk wheat ground. I was watching the rear tire as it started to slip more and more on the ground. I then looked back and say a big pile of debris in front of the disk. Not sure how that happened. I lifted the disk up and drove over the mound and was on my way. Working the fields and spending time with our dad and my older brother in those fields were some of my best memories. I loved the farming operation even though we didn't have newer machinery. I'll be 55 on Jan 9th.
Here's some pictures I took thru the years. Some may be repeats since I've posted some of these thru time to time.
First picture is of my mom, younger sister and our dad in the fruit shed where we sold vegetables.
Second pic was taken in 1988 from the seat of the 560.
3rd pic was dad using the "H" and old steel wheel McCormick Drill sewing wheat in 1988.
Picture #4 shows all the peaches that were raised in 1951. My dad as a single man back on the left then his dad stooped over inspecting the peaches.
Picture #5 Three of the pickup trucks they used to haul the peaches and other vegetables in to St. Louis Comission Row.
Pic #6 Some more peaches of the crop of 1951.
Pic #7 & 8 are some of the hired hand which inluded friend, neighbors and relatives that would come during the summer to help. Some were my dad's classmates he went all 12 yrs to school with. Pic #8 shows my dad on the far right probably when he was 19-22 yrs of age.
Pic #9 is all of us in 2006 with mom and dad. That's me in the back row 3rd from the left with my daughter next to me in the blue, my wife in front of me and my son sitting on the ground on the far left. I thought it would be nice to identify myself because so many times on YT here it's nice to put a face with a name... Happy New Year Everyone.

Happy new year and welcome to YT.

I was raised on a JD620 2 banger. I'm now 52 and hadn't driven it for 20+years. When my dad died a few years ago I went and got the 620. I was just amazed at how it just came natural driving it. The action of the clutch, gear shifter, hyd levers, and all of them at once. It was just like I was never off it.

I always remember the exhaust smell of my dads ZA MM when I was out in the field with him. I guess it was probably the additives and lead in it as the same tractor now days doesn't smell the same. Of course maybe we all smell different when we get older lol.

My dad held auction in 1991 and sold the 460 & 560. I had a chance two years ago to use a 560 diesel to run the people mover at our local tractor show. It triggered a lot of memories and feelings. I'm glad they were pleasant ones.
It made me realize how things can trigger such events or feelings in our lives whether they are good or bad for some people. It works both ways. But that's life! I'm glad to have the memories I have from growing up on a farm. Many of my classmates think I farm today but I don't. I live on 10 acres now and surrounded by farms. They call my place a farm... makes me laught to myself what they consider a farm.

My dad owned a sawmill and did all his own logging so I grew up to the sound of JD 40 crawlers skidding logs and the UD 18 power unit in the mill. Also had a JD MT at home for plowing gardens cutting hay ect.