From Shoe Level: Any colour you like, as long as it's red.

Any colour you like, as long as it's red. · Jun 5, 05:05 PM

My dad bought a Massey Harris 44 Standard a couple years back. I think the main reason he got one was, as a young man growing up on the family farm in Florence, Ontario, he and his brother regularly used the family tractor, a 44 Row Crop. So he always had a fondness for the big red workhorse.

When I was the age that my son is now, we lived for a brief period (about 2 years) on a beef farm near Listowel. We had 100 acres, some of it bush, some buildings, but most of it workable. We had (and I operated) 3 tractors: a Case 1370, a Massey-Ferguson 165, and a Massey Harris 44 Row Crop (the kind with the two front wheels really close together). Even though the Case had a cab and air conditioning and an 8-track tape player, there were only certain things you could do with such a big tractor. And even though the 165 had the front end loader, it had its purpose. And the 44 had its purpose too. It was the tractor we used to harrow the fields. It was the one we used to bring in the bales from the straw- and hayfields. It was also the one that, if you gave it too much power and hit a stone or a tree root, would want to pivot on its back wheels, with the front end precariously rising from the ground ready to flip over. You got ready to bail out if that happened.

So here’s my dad, over 75 years old, deciding to rekindle his love for the great red iron horse. He meticulously brought it back to its original glory. He finished it last fall (2005), but sadly never had the opportunity to show it. He passed away January 13, 2006.

Mom and I took it out to an event at our church this weekend. Our pastor said it was the star of the car show, because it was the only tractor there. Then he offered to trade his restored ‘68 Camaro SS for it.

Sorry Greg. No deal. That old girl’s got a bunch of shows left to go to. Dad would’ve wanted it that way.

* * *

i love this story chris…it really shows a lot of love on a lot of levels…and you are nothing if not a lovable guy with lots to go around…great pics, fabulous restoration

— barry Jun 5, 10:01 PM #
hey! there’s a show in boerne…pronounce “berny” down this way, you can stay on your way down there.

xoxo

oh wait, that one’s already gone, but there’s another one…dayton tx.

— barry Jun 5, 10:07 PM #
Screw that, Barry. The Gratiot Cruise is the Saturday, June 17. Bring that old girl by our house and show these dumb ‘mericans how you cruise in Canuckistan!

— Dug Jun 8, 01:30 PM #

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