1955 My First Tractor-Memory Lane Pix

[bp fick]

The first photo is 1954 and my older brother tries to pull me on a sled. Tough going. This was at our old 80 acre place.

The next photo was a great day, one I actually remember. Might be one of my first memories. Age 3. Dad got his new Massey Harris tractor and I got mine!!

He got the Canadian built, so it was grey, while mine was in the US built colors of Red and Yellow.

[dex3361]

Those are great pics. Must be some great memories for you there. Do you still live in the area that you grew up? How about your brother? Thanks for sharing.

[bp fick]

This was period during or shortly after the Ferguson merger with Massey-Harris. Some of the tractors were labeled Massey Ferguson, some were labeled Massy-Harris and some, I think combined all three names briefly.

Dad's tractor came from the Canadian plant where they used Ferguson grey. Never thought much about it, but my grand father bought a Massey Harris that same general time and his was the more common Red/Yellow wheels.

The Ferguson grey was kind of drab, in retrospect.

My brother survived Viet Nam as a US Marine and yes, returned his hometown, where he still lives. My life's path took me throughout the States, but I now live about 90 miles to the north. My dad passed 9 years ago.

[jimmyj]

I have two "first memories". I was very small, maybe 5 years old and I had a blue ford pedal tractor. It was real metal and had a trailer. Man o man I drove that thing for miles.

The second memory is my mother, I can't remember the tractor model, I think a ford also and she would recall, but she plowed up the gas line and leapt off. The thing kept on chugging along, right into the shed where it sat and spun until father ran over and shut it off! LOL.

[LBrown59]

The first photo is 1954 and my older brother tries to pull me on a sled. Tough going. This was at our old 80 acre place.

The next photo was a great day, one I actually remember. Might be one of my first memories. Age 3. Dad got his new Massey Harris tractor and I got mine!!

He got the Canadian built, so it was grey, while mine was in the US built colors of Red and Yellow.

The pictures remind me of some picures of my brother and me in that same year.

I was 14 and my brother was 11.

[bp fick]

At a state fair, dcyrilc posted some photos of this Massey in Red. This is the more common color scheme from the US plant. The cultivators seen in his photo are the spring tooth, while we had the spades, which were much, much better. Fully hydraulic. I'd say the Red Massey pictured is likely a 1949-52.

I notice my dad's also had full work lights. I remember him working late into the dark on some nights.

[bp fick]

Once I got to be 10 or 11, I got "checked out" on that tractor. Between the ages of 10-17, when I left for college, I would guess I logged a couple hundred hours, easily, on that Massey. Cultivating, plowing, disking. I remember one of my first tasks was to man the tractor and snap pull sapling trees and small stumps, while my dad worked the chain in back. Mastered the clutch at age 10, I'd say.

Full hydraulic lift attachments or draw bar, electric starts (most times, still had the crank in front) steering brakes too. 3 speeds forward, non sync and NO power steering.