02/02/2017
Tractor Makeover finalist #2 - Lake
Eugene Lake WMT Tractor Makeover Contest Entry:
My dad bought a new John Deere 50 tractor on July 2, 1954. Growing up on the farm this was the first tractor I learned how to drive. With the hand clutch and live power it was easy to operate for a young boy.
I moved back to the farm in 1981 after dad had a heart attack. I worked a full-time job on second shift and helped dad run the farm. My dad passed away in 1983 and I bought part of the farm, livestock and machinery from my mother.
In 1985, the John Deere 50 was traded in at a local dealer ship for machinery needed at that time. The dealer sold the John Deere 50 and I was working hard to just keep the farm going.
Fast forward to March 2016, I was reading about an upcoming farm auction. It was an estate auction for 2 brothers who had farmed all their life. The auction had a complete line of farm machinery, plus many antique tractors collected by the brothers over the years.
The day before the auction I went for a drive to check out some of the auction items. As I was looking around I noticed a John Deere 50, 60, and 70 parked next to a barn. The John Deere 50 caught my eye as I looked closer I began to notice things I remembered about the 50. I wrote down the serial number thinking this has to be dad’s 50. When I got home I checked the owner’s manual which I had kept when I sold the tractor. Dad had written the serial number inside the cover and the number matched, it was his tractor.
The next day I went to the auction. I told no one about tractor except my wife. Well I bought the John Deere 50, paid more than I wanted to like always, but it’s back home. I couldn’t let it slip away again.
The 50 was in good condition as the brothers had taken good care of it for 30 years. The radiator was leaking, so I took it out and got it restored. I also had the carburetor cleaned and rebuilt. I went on a local tractor ride in August of 2016. Everything worked fine except for some front wheel wobbling at high speed. I have enclosed some pictures of the John Deere 50. Not bad for a 62 year old tractor.
Tractor Makeover Finalist # 2