Who are we??????? And where do we come from??????

[Indydirtfarmer]

The "common bond" on here is our being "tractor fanatics". /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif Where did they first "grab" your attention? How many of us are "farm boys"?

I'm not wanting a life history, but what sparked your interest in tractors? What "background" do you have with them?

I grew up on a farm, and have 6 generations of farmers on my fathers side, as well as my wifes side. My earliest memories are of riding on my fathers lap, steering and grinning! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

(YEP! I'm bored.... Let's hear "your story")

 

[Bob_Skurka]

The only farming in my blood was tending to rose gardens in suburbia when I was a kid. I was a bad kid so dad made me take care of the roses because he didn't want to get stuck by the thorns!

I grew up in the shadow of Chicago, spent a lot of time in the city, never ventured out to the green areas until I went to college in a small town (Crawfordsville, IN) and that is in the middle of the best corn & soybean land in the state. Somehow a guy in my fraternity house talked me into going to a very large AG show . . . . I've got hooked on tractors right then and there. Finished college and gradutate school, bought a house near Chicago and started my career, but almost immediately began a search for rural property. I bought the rural property about 5 years later, and owned it for almost 5 more years before moving out to the country. Been living out here for 10 years now. Bought my first tractor 11 years ago.

 

[JDGREEN4ME]

Not a "farm boy" and no background with tractors. Need is what drew me to tractors and the want to do all that I can on my own (clearing land, etc.). /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Boondox]

I grew up in the big city of San Diego, and never farmed a bit in my life. But years in the Marine Corps left me with a love of the outdoors and firearms, and nine years of confinement in various warships left me with an ABSOLUTE love of open spaces.

Still, moving to Vermont and the rural lifestyle was purely accidental. I have a "Big City" graduate degree, the sort that is pretty worthless in rural America. But I fell in love with a Vermonter and married her. Since her family had lived on this land since 1796 her roots were a bit deeper than mine. And with 155 acres to care for, her "Hand tools were good enough for my ancestors" argument lasted all of a month!

We started with an ATV, that wasn't up to the task. Traded up to a Kubota B1750 with similar issues. Finally traded up to the tractor we should have bought first; our L3010 is a bit small, but does everything we ask of it.

Pete

 

[ronjhall]

Grew up in what is now Sterling Heights Michigan. My parents family called them crazy for moving so far out in the country. That was in 1940. Today the place on Mound Rd North of 14 mile road is in the shadow of the Renaissance center in Detroit.
The family called my parent place the farm. All 3 1/2 acres. Dad bought a Farmall A in the 50's. I was hooked.
During early teenage years I spent summers at a farm near Brown City Michigan. Got to run all kinds of farm equipment. Never lost that lust for tractors.
When I bought our place in 1972 a Farmall tractor was delivered the day we moved in.

 

[Golfgar4]

We moved around a lot when I was a kid, but eventually settled in suburbs of Chicago, so I never lived on a farm. My grandfather owned the International Harvester dealership in a small, rural community west of Madison, WI. When we'd go to visit, he'd take me over to the dealership and let me pick which tractor we would take out "for a little spin". He'd let me sit with him and drive, and we'd drive right down the middle of the main street (all 2 blocks of it! /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif) and we'd wave at everybody. Guess those drives were my first parades! I've wanted a tractor ever since.

 

[SeymourBota]

Born and raised in Vermont. In the early days, 'tractor' meant the lawn and garaden variety that I HAD to use to mow the lawn and snowblow the driveway. Later, after frustration with spinning wheels in the winter came the first 4wd, complete with it's category 0 3 point hitch!!
Now it's compacts and subcompacts for mowing and year-round maintenance of a mile of camp road and the immediate grounds. Also for that 'mechanical advantage' afforded by hydraulics.
Oh, and now I WANT more seat time!!!
No background in farming- I decided to become a banker!!

 

[Bird]

I grew up on a small farm in south central Oklahoma. Dad had a job in town, but we always had a milk cow, chickens, hogs, horse, big vegetable gardens, fruit and pecan trees, and a 1940 John Deere L. While I only had very little experience with them myself, I can remember Dad plowing with a team of mules before we got the John Deere.

Moved to small town north of Dallas as a teenager, worked in Dad's service stations, auto parts store, and Continental/Greyhound bus station. Then worked in Dallas for 30 years, 5 with the post office and 25 with the police department (moonlighted as cab driver and school bus driver part of the time I was with the post office). Retired to be a full time RVer for 6 years, travelled nationwide, sometimes as a "tourist", sometimes working in RV resort, tire dealership/garage, and doing gas leakage surveys.

Bought 10 acres 60 miles south of Dallas, had 2 Kubotas (one at a time), raised a few goats and rabbits, big garden, pecans and blackberries, and did automotive air tool repair work in my own shop. I was on the volunteer fire department and the board of directors for the water company with several "real farmers" who taught me a lot, and I worked with a neighbor rancher and his equipment and cattle.

And now back in the big city for family reasons. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

 

[mathey]

My father grew up on a farm, but was not a farmer by trade, but he always did some kind of part-time farming all along.

My father-in-law, however, is a true farmer, having done the usual hay, corn, soybeans, fruits and vegetables, Christmas trees and nursery stock throughout the years and had landscaping business as well. He currently only does Christmas trees. I started working for him when I was 13 (they ran a huge orchard between Baltimore and Washington) and have worked for him in some capacity for almost 30 years now.

I guess its safe to say I grew up around tractors in one form or another...throughout my life, my primary goal was to NOT be anything like my father...so it was quite a shock last year while mowing that I realized I was a part time farmer, almost exactly like my father. Hopefully that will be the only trait from him I will achieve. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

 

[RobS]

Born in Indianapolis (in town) but moved to the outskirts in third grade. Not a farm but 6 1/2 acres of property. My dad bought an International Scout to access the property. My mom hated that vehicle as she gave up her Morris Minor convertible for it. The Scout spent much of it's life at the dealership which was more of an ag dealer than a truck dealer. I spent my time looking at equipment and collecting brochures.

Went to college at Purdue and met many ag students. Took a couple of ag engineering classes. Never got the bug bad enough to enter agribusiness as a profession though. To this day I love both farm and construction machinery. It was far easier convincing the wife that we needed a tractor than an excavator.

Ironically, I was watching Ag Day during my workout this morning. The weather guy was on my floor in the dorm at school. He's also our local weather guy as Ag Day is produced here in South Bend.

I occasionally regret not pursueing a career with a company like Cat or Deere. Times were tough in the auto/equipment business when I graduated so I didn't have much to choose from. I'll just have to retire into the heavy equipment field /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif