Don't Fence Me In

 

My first job on the farm was driving the pickup while my dad built or picked up electric fence.

I was 6 at the time.

This winter, I returned to my roots. But instead of driving the pickup for my dad, I was helping Randy. There were some differences.

• I can now reach the brake and the gas with no problem. My sister, Lisa, and I were a tag team back in the olden days.
• I was helping on the Stafford/Reno County line rather than northern Pratt County.
• Back then, I wouldn't have gotten away with saying, "Wait just a minute while I get a photo."

Randy is used to my photo obsession. And since I was the only available worker, he put up with my need to stop and focus on the meadowlark watching our progress from the fence post. And, really, he's the one who called my attention to it in the first place. What could he expect?

Randy rode on the tailgate, and I drove the pickup between electric fence posts, where he'd jump off and toss each in the back of the pickup.

Back in the 1960s, I didn't have to help wind wire onto the spool. So I learned a new job. (Maybe he said OK to all the photos because he knew I was going to eventually be wielding a pitchfork - ha!)

The wire was threaded between the tines of the pitchfork, and I was supposed to gently move the handle back and forth to evenly distribute the wire on the spool.

 I couldn't keep from channeling the American Gothic painting as I did the job.

And, besides, Randy is always glad to get a photo with the old Ford 8N tractor.

There is something about tradition. That tractor seat has been occupied with five different generations now.  Melvin and Clarence bought the tractor back in the 1960s, when Randy was in grade school. They used it to load silage for feeding cattle. Randy remembers using it to pull a two-row John Deere planter when they planted milo. He also cultivated milo with it when he was junior high age.

Clarence (Randy's Grandpa, seated), his Dad Melvin and Randy holding Brent in 1988.

Randy was insistent that the tractor served as a focal point for a 2012 Easter-time photo with Kinley and Jill. (I should have taken a photo with Randy and the girls when they were here this fall.)

April 2012

The wire winder itself is homemade from a Model T frame, adding to the longevity of this farm workhorse.

It may be tired, but it's not retired. Come to think of it, that could apply to Randy and me, too.

Old War Horse

I cringe when I see farmers depicted as country bumpkins. You know the drill: They are in overalls with a wheat straw in their mouth, but it doesn't matter anyway because they sound like uneducated fools. It's the "Green Acres" syndrome.

Of course, there is an increasing number of people who actually want farmers to take a step back into the early 1900s. While they bite the hand that feeds them via their latest version of iPhone and tweet their opinions about how farmers are poisoning the world, they would rather farmers use a horse and plow ... while wearing their overalls, of course. (By the way, my Grandpa Neelly wore overalls, and he was no country bumpkin either.)

So, when Randy fires up the old Ford 8N tractor and I share a photo of it on a Facebook post, I hope people don't think it's the way we farm.  We have our Case STX 375 tractor. (It has 375 horsepower, compared to about 25 horsepower for the Ford tractor.)

We have finally joined the army of semi trucks that take grain to our local co-op. (It has 425 horsepower.)

And we really went the Army route with our new-to-us feed wagon.

But, this past week, Randy again used the Ford tractor. These days, we have a wire winder on the back and use it for building and rolling up electric fence so we can move cattle there for grazing.

A photo from fall 2013.

 I think the rust is the only thing holding it together.

But there is something about tradition. That tractor seat has been occupied with five different generations now.  Melvin and Clarence bought the tractor back in the 1960s, when Randy was in grade school. They used it to load silage for feeding cattle. Randy remembers using it to pull a two-row John Deere planter when they planted milo. He also cultivated milo with it when he was junior high age.

Clarence (Randy's Grandpa, seated), his Dad Melvin and Randy holding Brent in 1988.

Randy was insistent that the tractor served as a focal point for a 2012 Easter-time photo with Kinley and Jill.

April 2012

We'll see if the weather is good enough to get both granddaughters on the old Ford this Thanksgiving.

It may be tired, but it's not retired.

I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends

I've been humming The Beatles song, "I Get By With a Little Help From My Friends," since all of you helped me win the Beef Magazine online winter photo contest last week.

I realize this is beginning to sound like a broken record, but I promise that I'll keep these voting requests to a minimum. Still, I did find another fun contest, the Longest Lasting Farm Tool sponsored by Bayer Crop Science's Capreno^® herbicide. It doesn't have anything to do with the quality of the photo, though you have to admit the fall colors are a nice backdrop for the old Ford tractor.

I entered our wire winder and Ford 8N Tractor as our Longest Lasting Farm Tool. I could win one of five $500 prizes, or the grand prize is $5,000. Click here to see the whole gallery and vote. (It's under Kim F., KS.) A direct link to my photo is here. Voting is open until midnight ET March 27.

Here's what I wrote, though I had to abbreviate it because I could only have 500 characters. (Now you know why I have trouble with Twitter and its measly 140 characters.):

After a photo session with our granddaughter last year, there have now been five generations of our family on the Ford tractor seat. Randy's father, Melvin, and grandfather, Clarence, bought the tractor in the 1950s. They used it to load silage for feeding cattle. Randy remembers using it to pull a two-row John Deere planter when they planted milo. He also cultivated milo with it when he was junior high age. These days, we have a wire winder on the back and use it for building and rolling up electric fence. The wire winder itself is homemade from a Model T frame, adding to the longevity of this farm workhorse.

Jill, Kinley & Randy last April. Isn't it amazing how much Kinley has changed in a year? See my blog earlier this week to see Kinley on the farm.

The old Ford tractor has seen a lot of seasons on the Fritzemeier Farms!

 

So friends, I'd again appreciate your vote. I'll try not to overwhelm you with requests. But you guys were just so good the last time! THANKS!

Tired But Not Retired

Randy, Jill & Kinley - Easter 2012 - April

I think we've gotten our money's worth out of this Ford 8N tractor. Maybe it's time to make it a prop for family photos. (Of course, that might be a problem because somebody just dropping by for a random visit might think that's the way we still farm around here.)

My musings were prompted when the radiator started leaking while the guys were using it to string electric fence across the road for pasture for cattle. I thought maybe it was time to retire the old faithful work horse. But not so fast. Randy started searching the internet for a radiator replacement. He got one ordered and the guys got the radiator replaced.

It's as good as new. Well, maybe it's as good as new if you overlook the rust.  On second thought, the rust may be what's holding it together these days.

That tractor seat has been occupied with five different generations now. I couldn't find a photo of the tractor in action, but here's a four-generation photo of Clarence (Randy's Grandpa, seated), his Dad Melvin and Randy holding Brent in 1988.

When Kinley and Jill were here for Easter, Randy wanted a photo on the old Ford tractor. We need to take another photo when they are here again. Kinley has changed a lot since April! She did wear her overall jumper for the occasion. What a good little farm girl!

April 2012

Melvin and Clarence bought the tractor back in the 1960s, when Randy was in grade school. They used it to load silage for feeding cattle. Randy remembers using it to pull a two-row John Deere planter when they planted milo. He also cultivated milo with it when he was junior high age.

These days, we have a wire winder on the back and use it for building and rolling up electric fence.

It may be tired, but it's not retired. Come to think of it, that might describe me at the moment, too.