Re: How long have you been riding tractors?

Posted by Lyle on May 03, 2002 at 12:16:49 from (142.165.18.226):

In Reply to: How long have you been riding tractors? posted by Bill Oakes on April 26, 2002 at 18:32:34:

Great thread, I guess compared to some here I'm a young pup...

I'm sure I had tractor rides from the time I was 2 or 3 years old...
I remember distinctly my first "OPERATOR" experience...

My Dad had a 60 JD Gas (Std front). He had about 40 ft of harrows hooked to it. He turned me loose with the instructions that he wanted the little field double harrowed (A technique where you drive the middle of the tractor over the edge of the previous path, so the harrows cover each part of the field twice...) Of course being a youngster I some how figured he meant to move the tractor over only, so I blissfully harrowed the piece moving over about 4 ft at a time (1/2 tractor width) for a while before he stopped me and explained what he meant again....

The 60 was a nice tractor to run for a youngster, you had a platform to stand on, while leaning back against the seat and could use the hand clutch so didn't need to stretch the little legs out for stopping.

30 years later, and I'm out on my own acreage (17 acres I moved onto last summer) and have spent the last 2 weeks "playing" to quote my spouse, with my 1942 2N ford.

I'm currently overhauling a 5 ft rear mount finish mower, and have already bladed the driveway, and harrowed the winter pasture to spread around the horse pucks ...

I only farmed till I finished high school, and went to college to get one of those city jobs that pays you every 2 weeks regardless of what the weather looks like ...

I will admit that I got more enjoyment out of doing a good job on a field with our venerable 4020's and a 25 ft field cultivator, than any of the numerous days now spent in endless and mindless meetings ..
How many others were concious of how straight your work looked? As you knew the neighbours driving by would check out the field and comment on whether it looked tidy, or like it was cultivated by someone who was half potted ?

I always loved any task that required the use of the tractors ... Seeding, haying, cultivating, picking rock, or harvesting.

The most fun job though was moving large banks of snow with a JD 4020 powershift and a 46A front end loader. The powershift tranny would allow you to tear up to the bank in 4th or 5th gear and then after filling up the bucket you could flip it around into 4th reverse and back away with tires spinning.... It never took as long to clean out the yard as I woulda liked some days ...

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