The Tractor

The Tractor displayed on the header of this Blog is an Allis Chalmers Model "C." I can remember as if it was yesterday when my Dad purchased the Model "C." The total cost was about $700.00 and that included the tractor, a 2 bottom - 12 inch moldboard plow and a two row hand lift cultivator. The tractor had eleven horsepower and was quite small by today's standards.

The Tractor Dad purchased in 1944 is still in operation today on the Farm of my Sibling Brother. It is not called to do heavy plowing anymore, but it does real well in powering an elevator and other light task.

I think I was about 12 years old when I had enough body size to operate this tractor and the hand lift cultivator. The hand lift was counterbalanced with a series of tension springs, but it was no easy task to raise and lower the two gangs of cultivators when working in the corn field. In addition to this Tractor my Dad continued to use the team of horses to complete the farm work in a timely manner. I remember one time when I was operating the tractor in the corn field and I managed to mire the tractor in a muddy area of the field. At that point I was given the task of walking behind the one-row horse drawn cultivator because the horses knew enough to avoid the wet areas. If I could not operate the tractor properly my Dad thought that I would learn a valuable lesson given this opportunity. Of course I did!!!