Posted on 06/05/2006 8:13:27 PM PDT by Coleus
With a sputter and a bang that sent a whiff of diesel fuel wafting through Long Valley, the 1936 John Deere Model B started up as if new. To farmer Harvey Ort, the 70-year-old tractor is better than new.
"That's the typical green and yellow color you always found on John Deere tractors, although I don't think it had that shine back then. This is the oldest one we got," he said, admiring the wire-spoke wheels on the two-cylinder tractor. The machine is just one of 23 old-time tractors his family and friends have restored -- an impressive collection of antique farm equipment on any level, but especially in urban New Jersey.
In a state with a population of more than 8.7 million people, there are only 9,924 farms, mostly small operations between 10 and 49 acres, according to the New Jersey Farm Bureau, a lobbying organization for farmers. The group says 8,578, or 86.4 percent of the farms, are family- or individually owned. Aside from its rustic appeal, tractor collecting may be a hobby reserved for those who have a barn to store the large relics. But as rural life slowly disappears in America, more people are collecting old tractors, restoring them and displaying them in fairs or shows around the state.
"Nationally, it's quite a growing hobby, and it's certainly growing here," said Doug Tilton, 56, a retired police officer who with his son Jay has amassed a collection of 21 tractors. He also is president of the 29-year-old Delaware Valley Old Time Power and Equipment Association, which organizes the state's largest show of tractors and old farm equipment at Washington Crossing State Park in Titusville. "We had our biggest turnout ever last year, with about 180 exhibitors and about 1,900 spectators," said Tilton, who grew up around
(Excerpt) Read more at nj.com ...
Just this past winter I overhauled an 1954? Massey Harris Ferguson for a farmer and recently fixed a gravely superconverter for another. No one was really sure of the age of tractor. Had a Continental 4 cyl. FM 135
I still have the 1938 and 1939 John Deere "A"s that my uncle and father bought new.
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