IH Tractors on Montana Farm

[farmerboy3]

2 hrs away from you were gettin pretty close to puttin in a crop were about i'm gonna say 2 weeks away but some people say 3 weeks one guy from alberta says he might be able to start in a few feilds by the end of well now it would be this week

[Loadstar]

RE: flooded Farmall

Regardless of tractor model-------------I would bet on the water being wet (and muddy).

Ya'll send that water : out to the North-----------we've got a "big River" coming down the Mississippi--------and its continuing to rain in the Ohio River basin. Mississippi River levels looks to exceed the 2008 levels at minimum.

Delta Dirt

Avon, Ms 38723

Anson, I guess we have water problems in some parts of the world but I hear Texas is burning up. Too bad that excess water could not be distributed a little more evenly as we have plenty to spare. I was just looking at this picture from about 1987, my brother's triple4 Massey stuck breaking up some slough bottom that had dried up enough (in places). Still a little soft in places though and he had to get the neighbour's 5020 in to pull him out . That same spot today is deep enough to pretty well submerge both tractors I'd guess. I know it was close to 6 feet a year ago and the levels have risen even more this spring. Planting time is still a moving target in this country as the creeks continue to run and sloughs run over.

[Loadstar]

Just came across this story and photo on CBC and thought it belonged here. Old iron in the water near Melita Manitoba.

Too much water

[Old Binder Guy]

I forgot to mention that grandson Maverik and his new bride Angelique were here overnight on their way back to his fort in Colorado for some more Army... It was good to see him. I hadn't seen him since last July. He seems to be doing well. He was in two firefights in Iraq, even though my television set told me the war was over and the troops left. This photo is an old, old one of granddaughter Mercedes on the seat of Annie, my Farmall H and Maverik on the hitch. It is an IH Tractor on a Montana Farm too. Gary

[Old Binder Guy]

I forgot to mention in that last photo of Mercedes and Maverik on Annie. Annie was the 181st (Sn-FBH 681) Farmall H built and notice the split ring on the rear rim. I don't know how popular that two piece rim was? I've not seen another.

Gary

Edit:

Actually I should have posted this photo in the first place, with Maverik at the wheel of "Ol' Annie".

This was him in my Model TT, after driving it (with Granddad along).

[Tubacase47]

Gary suggested that I add the following that I saw in today's Great Falls Tribune:

Martha Mehmke, age 86 passed away this past Saturday. She and her late husband Carl were 2 of the nicest people Gary and I have had the privilege of knowing. Their collection of steam engines, gas tractors and other items too numerous to mention is one of the best in the Northwest.

Some years ago, I met them at a steam show and Martha introduced me to one of her old friends this way: "Tom is like a second son to us." It made me feel awful good and I like to remember them as surrogate parents.

[Old Binder Guy]

Gary suggested that I add the following that I saw in today's Great Falls Tribune:

Martha Mehmke, age 86 passed away this past Saturday. She and her late husband Carl were 2 of the nicest people Gary and I have had the privilege of knowing. Their collection of steam engines, gas tractors and other items too numerous to mention is one of the best in the Northwest.

Some years ago, I met them at a steam show and Martha introduced me to one of her old friends this way: "Tom is like a second son to us." It made me feel awful good and I like to remember them as surrogate parents.

Tom,

You are right... They were exceptionally fine people. Martha always had a house full of old iron nuts from around the country and made them all feel at home, plus she fed and housed a bunch of them... Me included. I don't remember the birthday, but I went to work; came home and was planning on a piece of birthday cake and some ice cream that night. The door bell rang at the back door and I went to get it. It was Carl, Martha and Jack Hoover. What a wonderful evening. I talked until I was hoarse.

While I grew up as a boy (1956) attending the Mehmke steam shows put on by Carl's father, Walter, I REALLY had some wonderful times there in later years when Carl held his annual Mehmke Plow Day. I treasured the trust Carl had in me as one of his steam engineers, operating equipment he didn't want anything to happen to. Carl knew I'd keep an eye on the water of all of the engines too. He didn't want us to make any headlines, but good ones and we managed to do only that.

Speaking of Jack Hoover, I ran into the old RR bunch from Great Falls that inherited his little Anaconda Copper Smelter saddle tank dinky #124. It was donated by Jack's daughter. This engine set at Mehmkes for decades, as well as the old Shay that used to set behind the museum. I remember this engine still being used at the smelter. Our Glengarry School toured several places in Great Falls on a field trip when I was probably a 7th grader. It was fun to see that little locomotive hauling ore cars around there. I also got to see the one at the GW Sugar Factory in Billings as a youngster as well. These two locomotives were among the very last registered, licensed and used on a daily basis commercially. One of the two, and I think it was the Sugar Factory, WAS the last commercial locomotive in use daily. That was before steam locomotives made a slight comeback for excursion trips.

Sorry to get so far off of the subject of Martha Mehmke. I guess I'd better get my cell phone and delete that phone number.

Gary

[Old Binder Guy]

I went and dug up these two photos of Carl and Martha at the Mehmke Plow Day, one year. This was the year Carl was honored as the steam engineer Hall of Fame of the year 1996 for the EDGE&TA. Gary

[Loadstar]

I forgot to mention in that last photo of Mercedes and Maverik on Annie. Annie was the 181st (Sn-FBH 681) Farmall H built and notice the split ring on the rear rim. I don't know how popular that two piece rim was? I've not seen another.

Gary

Gary, mentioning the Farmall H rims made me think of this pic I took a couple of year ago at a farm auction. You can't see it in the picture but this tractor had a split rear rim too, but not a factory model. It had literally rusted through and spllit from the results of leaky calcium chloride I guess. I'm assuming this is a Model H but others more informed may differ. The truck I really liked , was an L-185.

[chub]

I only remember one set of split rims that I have seen, although a person could walk right by such and not notice. I am sure you have something pretty rare, Gary.

Ralph, pretty nice sheet metal on the tractor....Super M?

[Old Binder Guy]

Ralph,

I can tell by the "stance" it's a Farmall H. To end up with that L-185 on your farm, all you have to do is go to the auction and wave your bidding number profusely.

Chub,

You're right about people not noticing the split rims. This wheel was taken in for a flat tire in the 1960s. When they remounted the tire, they'd put it on backwards, or the split rim ring would be inside as on the right driver wheel.

Gary

[Loadstar]

Ralph,

I can tell by the "stance" it's a Farmall H. To end up with that L-185 on your farm, all you have to do is go to the auction and wave your bidding number profusely.

Its likely long gone Gary. Not much interest at the auction a couple of years ago although I did some guys discussing the tractor. The big truck had actually been cut in half right behind the cab. Still, if I'd had an easy way to get it home I'd have taken it. All I bought there was a good set of manifolds for the IH BD truck engines.

Heres a winter scene of the train pulled into the station at Kerrobert, SAsk. Supposed to be about 1913.

[Old Binder Guy]

Ralph,

That's a great photo of the locomotive and the snow!

Here's a picture of a 15-30 or 22-36 McCormick-Deering pulling a Deering combine that is putting out sacked grain. Gary

[Loadstar]

Ralph,

That's a great photo of the locomotive and the snow!

Here's a picture of a 15-30 or 22-36 McCormick-Deering pulling a Deering combine that is putting out sacked grain. Gary

Gary that almost looks like a painting or a drawing, a good one though.

I have a red power photo here, Massey red though. I found out that the ground is pretty dangerous out in the field while carrying a bale to the feeder. The Super 90 dropped to the front axle so fast I nearly hit the steering wheel.

[Old Binder Guy]

Ralph,

When I was a kid (I started saving literature, photos, anything old) in 1952.) I used to cut up old manuals of whatever types of equipment. Just sickening today, but I always kept the good stuff and glued them into scrap books. That's where much of this stuff came from. I don't cut up anything anymore, but I can't glue them back to the way they were, so let's enjoy them. This first one is a 10-20 pulling a wooden wheel and hopper grain drill.

This was right out of an old McCormick-Deering manual; another 10-20.

EDITED:

This one was from an old book of some kind; a Wallis Cub tractor. They also built the Wallis Bear and Wallis Cub Jr. I don't know what that crop is? Corn? Something we don't have here in Montana.

If you notice on the front of that Wallis Cub, there is something in the air to show the operator the direction his front wheel is turned. This is what that is; a Wallis Bear! Mike found this bear in some of his scrounging over the years. (yep, it's genetic) Gary

EDIT: PS Ralph, That looks very disappointing, having your tractor down to the axle in mud. It's going to take a while for things to dry out too. I don't envy you having to put up with that kind of mud. I did one season in the late 1960s and was darn near ready to jump off a cliff by the time it dried up.

[Roger Byrne]

I'm afraid I have to correct OBG about his Wallis picture above, that is a Wallis CUB in that photo. The Wallis Company only built a handful of giant Wallis BEAR tractors. I'm familiar with them because the Hale family owned one that they purchased when it was demonstrated at the Minnesota State Fair in 1910(?). I heard many stories about the huge machine from them. One interesting thing that was different about theirs from the one in the photos below, is that the exhaust came out on each side and blew on the final drive pinions. The engine burned a fair amount of oil and the exhaust was enough to lubricate the gears and also blow the dirt away. Another comment and the reason they replaced it with a Twin City 45 was that it was a real gas hog. They said you could put 5 gallons of gas in it and it wouldn't even make it from the shed to the field. They also tried it thrashing, but with the pulley in back and it's appetite for gas, they went back to using their 40HP Undermounted Avery steam engine after just a couple of days. The photos below are of the only existing tractor.

Below is a U-Tube link showing both the Wallis CUB and the Wallis BEAR:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UT_Hcthfqzg

[Old Binder Guy]

Well........... I guess you can all see the egg on my face??!! I had the right church, but wrong pew!

Thanks for straightening me out, Roger. I should have gone and gotten my book but would have had to wake up Sharon to do it and I knew this was bigger than the Wallis Cub Jr. Sorry for trying to mislead you all...

Well, I'll risk some more. Maybe Roger can identify the tractors I'm posting, as I don't know what they were, except for the last one. This one is at least front wheel drive.

These next two are alike. I don't know if they are oil tractors or high pressure steam tractors? Dunno.

This last one is a Model L Emerson-Brantingham. Gary

[Ron Cook]

This is the most interesting thread I have ever run across. Keep going fellows.

Ron

[Old Binder Guy]

Ron,

I remember the day Ronald Reagan was first inaugerated. He made the statement: "Old age and treachery will trump youth and inexperience everytime." of course a reference to his age over his opponent. I guess us old heads on here have seen a lot through our eyes in the past many decades. Welcome aboard Red Power!

Gary or OBG as I'm affectionately (and sometimes unaffectionately) referred to here.

[Loadstar]

Finally, one of the indicators of spring has showed up here. With a background of the old Red River Special threshing machine, here is a shot of the first crocus of spring out in the pasture.

[chub]

Finally, one of the indicators of spring has showed up here. With a background of the old Red River Special threshing machine, here is a shot of the first crocus of spring out in the pasture.

Looks like a lot of dollars worth of scrap iron there Ralph, chub.

[Loadstar]

Finally, one of the indicators of spring has showed up here. With a background of the old Red River Special threshing machine, here is a shot of the first crocus of spring out in the pasture.

Looks like a lot of dollars worth of scrap iron there Ralph, chub.

You may be right there Chub. And if this year continues as it has begun, I may need to look at selling all the old scrap iron on the farm to pay my taxes.

In other news, I hear there is a blizzard raging south of me today. Maybe Gary will be snowed in and need one of these to clear the track.

http://www.wpyr.com/rotarysnowplow.html

[Old Binder Guy]

Ralph,

We got the snow you predicted! I'm still heading to Missoula for some 80hp Case lumber sawing today. (And I was invited to make them miserable with some squeezeboxing!) We're VERY white this morning, but not as white as that RR rotary snow plow is experiencing.

I hope you soon have better luck farming than this Big Bud owner is having Ralph! Gary

[Loadstar]

Ralph,

We got the snow you predicted! I'm still heading to Missoula for some 80hp Case lumber sawing today. (And I was invited to make them miserable with some squeezeboxing!) We're VERY white this morning, but not as white as that RR rotary snow plow is experiencing.

I hope you soon have better luck farming than this Big Bud owner is having Ralph! Gary

Gary, if the weather is as miserable there as it is here they will be more than happy to listen to your music as long as it is not outdoors.

That stuck Big Bud is a terrible sight but I am afraid we are going to see a lot of that before this spring is over. I will keep that picture in mind every time I am in the tractor trying to get a little closer to the sloughs.

Here is an old ad I dug up (while looking for something else naturally). Showing Fords on sale at one of our dealers in what I am guessing is late 1952 to early 53.

[Ron Cook]

Ron,

I remember the day Ronald Reagan was first inaugerated. He made the statement: "Old age and treachery will trump youth and inexperience everytime." of course a reference to his age over his opponent. I guess us old heads on here have seen a lot through our eyes in the past many decades. Welcome aboard Red Power!

Gary or OBG as I'm affectionately (and sometimes unaffectionately) referred to here.

Gary,

Thanks for the welcome. Sometime back,in another forum, Loadstar put a link to a photo he had posted on here. I followed it and got hooked looking at the photos in this link. Spent several hours so far and have not scratched the surface. You started mentioning folks I know(Frank Bass. I am a lifetime member of the Antique Airplane Association) folks I am familiar with their names and places,(the late Smolik brothers and Antique Acres which I attend from time to time) and many other. I donated some things that are part of the Mountain Flying Museum in Missoula, so there is a Montana connection. It sort of falls under the "small world" category. The only thing IH that I currently own is a 340 Farmall I am working on. I grew up on an F-20 of 1936 vintage and I trucked for several years with 1800 Loadstars and a VF-192. I have not many photos of the sort to post here, but I may run across some eventually. Most of my photos are of airplanes.

Ron