All Work and No Play..............!!!!!!

I am sure that you have heard the adage, "All Work and No Play Makes Jack a Dull Boy." This post will clearly show that Iowa Tractor Boys know how to play. Here is a "Paddlefish" that was hooked just below Lock and Dam Number Ten on the Mississippi River. You can certainly see the glee on the face of the "Iowa Tractor Boy" who caught the fish. It was released back into the Mississippi River. Note the Dam Gates in the left background of this picture.

June 2007 - Iowa Tractor Boys

June 2007 - Iowa Tractor Boys

Have No Fear. In order to develop a successful Iowa Tractor Boy you need to start them Young. Here you see two young Iowa Boys experiencing the joy of imagining what the future will be like. This Lawnmower is not running and it is a posed picture.

A Veteran Tractor. A John Deere Model 4060. A workhorse in the era in which it was manufactured. But due to the high cost of dedicated Farm Laborers, the Tractors were made bigger so that a Farmer could be much more efficient.

Here you have the opportunity to see the range of Tractor size as well as the various ages of the John Deere Farm Tractors. From mowing the lawns to deep tillage of hundreds of acres the Iowa Farmer needs a wide range of equipment to conduct farm operations. If you look closely you will also see some Iowa Tractor Boys.

The final picture today features a head-on view of John Deere Tractors. In addition to farming with John Deere equipment the young Farmer in front of the largest tractor also works at the John Deere Dubuque, Iowa Tractor Works. This Factory has produced Farm Tractors and Crawlers for sixty-years and the John Deere equipment line is exported all over the World, along with becoming a major supplier of Green and Yellow Farm Equipment for the production of Food Stuffs in the United States of America. In fact in the Heartland of America, the great Upper-Midwest, if it is in a Field, the changes of it being Green and Yellow is the norm. Please take note of the white tank in the picture which is a part of the corn drying operation each Harvest season. The other bins are for storage of corn shelled corn awaiting shipment to the producers of feed for livestock, food for us human beings and even exportation to the far reaches of our Globe.

Please note that by clicking on any of the images above that you will be able to view the picture on a larger screen.

Junior Iowa Tractor Boy - June 1979

This is a picture of my Youngest Son during a visit to his Grandparents in June of 1979 when he was a three year old. He grew up and did not return to his Grandparents roots. Of course, he followed in his Father's footsteps and became a City dweller.

Corn Spraying Rig in Iowa

While it is true that you cannot see the "Iowa Tractor Boy" in this image you can be certain that He is within a few hundred feet of the activity shown here. You might call this a replenishment station as the tank of the Corn Spraying Rig is being fulled with water. The appropriate chemicals are then mixed with the water and the fields of young corn plants are sprayed. This is done to kill the weeds that compete with the corn crop for the necessary nutrients and water to produce an abundant harvest. Of course an abundant harvest means that our Corn Flakes and our Beef, Pork and Milk will remain at a price that is affordable. As you know, we here in the United States of America have the most plentiful food supply at the lowest cost.

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!!!

Welcome

I developed this blog so that former Iowa Farm Boys could share their memories. Additionally I hope to have images and information that I receive from Current Iowa Farm Boys to let the World know what is currently going on in the Upper Mid-West.

A future Blog will highlight information about the Tractor that is featured in the Mast Head of this Blog. An Allis Chalmers Model "C."

Again, Welcome and enjoy the stories and memories. Thank You!!!!