What's the first tractor you ever drove?

Andy.

As I got older, remember thinking I was really a big kid when my boots were wide enough to cover both brake pedals on Dad"s 1950 M. Raked many an acre of hay on the M, but Armstrong Power Steering didn"t work very well for a skinny 10 year old. Walter

Thanks,
Andy.

9 yrs old.

Don Southwest Ohio

Then there was a new place to explore, my father bought a log time Ford dealership, lot full of blue tractors, huge shop and parts dept with an even older wood framed garage shop, also was Mobil gas station. Now this was cool, that older shop was kind of abandoned, unused, the old wood drawers, bench, old tools, and all the old NOS parts in the attic. 3 brothers worked there as mechanics, and I can remember the days when I was there all day, no school, summer or what might be, having lunch at the back of the shop, all the tractors being worked on, the lot full of new tractors etc. Another tantalizing fact was that I went to school directly across the street/road and until I was out of that wing, I could see across and want to be there instead of school! The best was going on out on a run with the tilt cab C series ford flatbed which they built in the shop, and being allowed to operate the winch levers, and tilt bed, flag traffic etc. I have a few artifacts with the dealership's name on it, an original ford tractors equipment pam clock that hung behind the parts counter, the canvas banner that we hung on our display at the fair, some old dealer stickers, porcelain thermometer with the dealers name on it, work bench in Ford blue and a big ole Columbia vice and many other priceless (to me) items. Town historian found a picture of the place and published in the towns history book, it had a row of new 8N's out front(maybe 9N's have to look closely) all had side sickle mowers, and the dearborn logo painted on the side of the building. 5 years ago a 640 turned up for sale that had our dealer sticker on the one armed loader, a long time friend who is like a brother bought it, if he sells it, I'm going to have to buy it, that was a cool find, my father remembers having 2 of these on the lot.

For me, I don't think it would be possible to not have an appreciation for tractors, equipment and the agriculture community, as a kid it's all most of us knew around here growing up, that changed quickly as future generations missed out on all the farming, things have changed a lot since those days.

Second day dad said the spreader has to be at least level full before going out.

I guess 10 or 12 pitch fork fulls wasn't considered a load.

Second was a ZB MM.

Dad was riding on the back of the ZB when we stopped for a gate. I pushed in the clutch we stopped he got off, to open the gate. I let out the clutch and went thru the gate before he got to it.

He asked what the heck I was doing. I said I let the clutch back out like he always did. He told me you have to take it out of gear before letting the clutch back out. I guess I never saw him do that. I thought it was kinda like the hand clutch were you could leave it in gear and as long as the clutch wasn't moved it would stay there. Dumb kids.

I still have both of them.

I really have fell in love though with - whatever, probably making hay - in the last 5 years. I have learned how to sand blast, paint, plant plow, pasture management, I have learned how to correctly clean carburetors, and well as you all know way too much to list.

Pathetic though first time really on a tractor at - must have been 23 years old.

Just enough "green" left in me do some silly things. I stacked a wagon 10 high 3 years ago into a PYRAMID shape. I should scan the photo in - looks pretty crazy I am standing on the top bale - tailored up to a single bale in the middle. Yeah that was interesting they have hills on the in-law's farm.

This one when I was 7 years old. That was 31 years ago and Daddy was right there beside me kinda standing and squating on the axle housing just in case I messed up and hit something. When we made it out ot the field, he told me, "Now just go out there and ride around, but stay on the flats for now. When you get older Ill let you pull a plow or something.", and then jumped off the back. He would take a peek out of the side of the barn every now and then to check on me, and I drove that thing for 2 hours.Im here to tell you, 1st gear and half throttle seemed awful fast to me.

First tractor I actually remember riding on was grampas Massey Harris 44

First one I drove by myself was a Ferguson F-40. It was new also. 1956.

I started on a little Ford 9n? I don"t know for sure the exact model but it was that flavor. It was a big step up when the next tractor had floorboards and not footpegs! :-)

Kevin

For me the first would have been a John Deere pedal tractor.

First with a real motor would have been a IH cub.

Nothing bigger than that, and I have always been Impressed!!!

The Farmall B and M are really a treat, but the Farmall B is really handy. Pulls loaded wagons some, and Mows like heck. The B has the tightest motor of any of them listed above (besides the bobcat)

One "Atta-boy" for your H !!

Jerry

Got some time after that on everything from a little Yanmar to a JD 4440 till I got my first tractor of my own in 1997, an IH 574D. All the good old 20's & 30's iron started trickling in after that. 7 now... about to be 8.

Andy.

Walt

• Hobby farm

It was a MF industrial loader tractor with a shuttle. When I was 4 yo my Dad and cousins would get me on it and put it in 1st gear and I was to steer it around the field while they picked rocks into the bucket. When the bucket was full someone would jump on the tractor (usually while is was still moving) and drive it to the fence and dump the bucket then reset me where we left off.

I was probably only going 1 mph but I thought I had the world by the tail!

The little MF industrial was used up and traded early in my childhood and was replaced with an IH 484 which I drove the snot outa (as did the rest of the family) handling round bales. The IH is now gone too.