Back!!

Hi everyone. We have been remiss in posting here which makes me sad for we worked so hard to get the number up.  But, tomorrow we get back at it. Looks like my illness is dying off now …. so that is good!  Now my mother has it… 😦 Lasts three months, plugs up your sinuses, makes your ear ring endlessly… drove me crazy.

So, today it hit 50 degrees, played with the coolies, took lil Hallie for a ride, got gas and drove the tractors and have energy left over for the first time in three months.

 

 

Finally, after a year of looking hard…. perhaps… keep your fingers crossed a tractor may have been found. It came out of the blue… um… I dont want to jinx it… but lets say this… its not Flambeau, its not green, its not red or silver…  okay that is enough of a hint. It also has 36 or 40 hp, weighs around 4000 pounds and will fit in nicely here….

 

HMMMMM… A LANDMINE OUGHT TO TAKE CARE OF THIS NEW ADDITION.. MUWAHAHAHAHAH

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Experience It!!!!

The old guy likes to read and then apply or see the things he reads about.  ONe of his first favorites was was a book about Daniel Boone.  Recently on the Internet archive, where they have tons of old books he found that exact book for his kindle and read it with much joy.  When he grew up the Old Guy visited the rebuilt Boonesborough ….

Another early book he enjoyed was about Buffalo Bill Cody… a few years ago he found the book and bought it…. this book was his favorite for years and he regularly checked it out of the library.  Now he has his own copy and keeps its in a glass door bookshelf…. someday he plans on visiting Buffalo Bill’s grave…. just as he did Daniel Boone’s.

-This is the book.. it is nothing special but the memories…

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-The old guy loved Terhune’s books when he was a kid and has collies now and wants to visit Sunnybank.  He studied lots of Presidents, visited their homes…  he loved Fords, tractors and had other hobbies he read about then either visited the sites, graves or used the items he studied.

What we collies are trying to say is it is great for ppl to read about things, but what really brings it to life is seeing, visiting, using, making a hobby of or whatever of the things you read about.  Don’t just live through other ppl’s experiences or lives, visit those places, see those things or bring those items into your lives and use them.  It gives you hands on experience and fullfills your wisdom in ways you can’t even imagine.

Dad loved collies when he was a kid, Lassie and Terhune made him want collies.  When he grew up he made us part of his life.  Through this he came to realize that the things written about collies by Terhune and others were true and that like those who wrote about collies, his life was heavily impacted by our presence.  The triumphs, love, life and finally tragedies were more than he could have ever imagined and it made the books of Terhune come even more alive for he experienced those things.

What we are trying to say is dont just observe, study or read about things.  That is great and dad loves it himself. But, bring it into your life, experience it, do it.  Why?  Because then you experience life and it makes the things you read about come to life!  You gain insights and wisdom and breath and live what you have read about enriching your life.  When you read it again you will see the books through different eyes and enjoy them even more… but most of all your life will be richer also.

Dad read about and loved collies. Then he had us and we changed his life in many ways and he has come to treasure Terhune even more.  He never dreamed that would happen…. while he has lost many a collie he loved he would never give up one moment to take away the pain for the pleasures, love, joy and life experiences far outweighs the pain he has felt.  So, do read and enjoy things… but live it!  Only then will you get the fullness of what life can be…. most of all love and be loved….  and whent he time comes…. you will be mourned more deeply than any mere collie or human should be mourned…. live…. love and live while you can….

 

-Reading about collies is one thing… living your life with them  brings your readings to life and brings your life much joy, love and fullfillment.  Whatever you enjoy reading, watching or seeing, make it part of your life…  you won;t regret it…. 🙂  Imagine how boring the old guy’s life would be without us…. especially Ginger! Muwahahahaha  Okay, we wrestled the computer from Ginger but are leaving her comment there for you… for how boring would his life be without her?  How empty would his life had been without Trevor? Niamh? Both Hallies?

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The Winter Blues

The old guy is sort of moping around the house right now for it is winter time and he can’t go out and tinker on his tractors or play with us as much for it is too cold.  With his new job and the training he comes home exhausted from all the learning… so he sits and vegges looking at tractor films on you tube or reading.  The good news is it will be in the 40’s near 50 this weekend and with gasoline down in price he is going to buy some for the winter snow plowing and to play a bit.

He also plans on playing with us since it will also be dry so we should get a good long play in each day and some walks!

The old guy likes to tell how in the old days one could tell which type of tractor was coming down the road just by the sound of it.. just like each brand of car had its own sound.  Sort of like us collies who dad can tell who is who by the bark… and we make sure he gets plenty of those! LOL

Here are a couple of vids so you all can tell the difference in sounds.. the first is by an Allis Chalmers WC giving what dad calls the “Allis Purr” as she pulls a plow…. when dad plows some neighbors come out to see for it is a loud purr…..   sounds exactly like dad’s…..

 

Then a Case DC …… he says it is more of a throaty growl…..

 

Hopefully Dad will get his tractor fix this weekend…..  we want to play…..

-Ball, ball, ball, ball,

 

 

 

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Here She Comes

-Growl, snort, bellow, rumble…… growl….. Here she comes snow…. Old Allis is coming to kick your butt!!!!  With  dad with her you are in trouble for they will push you around and humiliate you once again…..   everyone bark their approval.. Go Allis!!!!!

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We Will Just Take A Nap

A cold, rainy weekend.  So, Dad put the blade on the tractor, got us out between the rain storms to run and looked for a new job and listened to the Reds lose again, the Canadiens win again and was highly entertained by the Maple Leafs as they continue their all offense, no defense hockey games which are proving to be the most highly entertaining games dad has heard in a while.

We collies yawned at the Reds.. they looked horrible again…. the Canadiens give us opportunity to celebrate and the Leafs, well it is overwhelming!

Snow is coming and dad is not liking it.  But, Old Allis is ready and itching to give the snow a real butt kicking.   As for use collies, we think we will just take a nap! 🙂

 

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The Genius Who Missed The Boat

Harry Merritt walked through the door of Allis Chalmers  with one thought on his mind.. how to take this company that built fine tractors away from 10 years of losses and to turn it into a tractor building powerhouse.  One of his first acts was to take apart a tractor and go over it piece by piece and find ways to make it cost less while increasing quality.  The tractor price fell from 1895 to 1295 and was better than before.  Then he decided the Allis Chalmers needed a new color and while riding through the mountains of CA on a train he looked out over a huge valley full of poppy flowers.  He had his men get some of these and told the paint department he wanted this copied for the paint on the tractor.  The famous Persian Orange color was born!

Then came one of the first row crop tractors in America.. the UC which was followed closely by one of the greatest models ever build the WC/WD/WD 45 series which evolved over 25 years.  Rubber tires then became offered first on AC tractors and then the tires filled with hydrochrloide.  Thsi salty brine added lots of weight and gave the Allis Chalmers greater traction.

But, Harry Merritt was not done… he fullfilled Henry Ford’s dream of a low priced small all around tractor that cost under $500. The model B was born and Allis Chalmers rode the wave to become the third largest tractor builder in America!  I own a Model B and it is one fantastic tractor!

Harry Merritt kept looking for that last ingredient that would put Allis Chalmers over the top.  Unfortunately he had it in his hands and dismissed it.  The idea was the three point hitch that used hydraulics to lift and turn implements and were simple to hook them up.  A device that changed the tractor world was in his hands when Harry Ferguson offered it to Harry Merritt.  Merritt turned down the idea and Henry Ford latched onto it and the rest is history.

Allis Chalmers rose to become a tractor powerhouse and built many fine tractors. But, the heyday of the 30’s, 40’s and 50’s passed and they slid down the rankings a few notches.  The irony of it all is that the man who made Allis Chalmers a power house is the same man who also led them to their slow decline by not recognizing the the very item that would’ve led AC to the top  for having the Model B with the three point hitch would’ve had even Farmall chasing AC for years.

But, even with that Harry Merritt is still recognized as a genius who led a tractor company who was going to be shut down to become the third largest in America.  No small achievement at all…..

-the model B I own…

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-hmmmph… none of that means nothing I am a genius who didn;t miss the boat.. I discovered a little collie liquid down the gas tank makes that B scream like a demon…. just have to make sure the old guy never sees me jumping it over the other tractors…. muwahahahaah

 

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Two More Days…..

-Only two more days of waiting… oh joy,,,, sigh,,,,

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-yep, that means no ball that day, then tons of pictures to sort, non–stop talk about what he saw, ate and experienced… sigh…

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-yeah, two more days of waiting, then I pee in the gas tanks, pour dirt in the carbs, tacks on his seats and then pull off all the spark plug wires and [ut them all back on wrong… muwahahahahaha  Yes, go to the big tractor show old guy….. then I will have my own tractor show… muwahahahahahahahahahahah

 

 

 

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100 Years!!!

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The collies are partying!  They found out that Allis Chalmers began building tractors in 1914. 🙂  Collies will celebrate anything to have a party.  Allis Chalmers is now part of AGCO, which also took over White which had the Oliver, Minneapolis-Moline and Cockschutt tractors.  A arm of AGCO is Massy-Ferguson also, so many great tractor lines are part of AGCO now, but none of the names are on tractors (they all have new names) except for Massey-Ferguson.  So, happy 100 Allis Chalmers!!!

100 years ago Lad ran across the lawn of Sunnybank and Terhune hadn’t even began writing about him yet.

A Happy 102 to Case Tractors!  While they had built Steam Tractors for decades before that, and had tried a failed gasoline tractor in 1892, it was in 1912 that Case came in to stay.   Case of course is part of Case-New Holland Company and the tractors are merged with International Harvester to build Case-IH tractors.  IH built Farmalls…..  While they still build tractors,  Case is part of a huge company now.  J.I Case and Cyrus McCormick would be in awe of how their companies merged to become an even bigger behemoth.  Happy 112th Case which was founded in 1842. 🙂

In 1912 Lad of Sunnybank was ten years old and Terhune hadn’t even thought about writing about him yet.

 

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It was a different world back then, but these machines live on. I have seen one 1914 Allis Chalmers at the Henry Ford in Dearborn.  It was Green paint then……

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FYI for Fun

As I relaxed today I thought about the coming week as I will touch up Annie and take care of things like paint bleed on the tires and make sure everything is double checked for the parade.  As I thought about it I thought I would tell you a bit about JI Case himself, the company and the tractors.  Of course the collies will be involved.

One thing you will notice about Case tractors is they have that big steering bar down the side to turn the front tires when you turn the steering wheel. It was pretty unique. There is a name for that type of steering.    It is called “Chicken Roost” steering.  You see when the tractor was done working in the field the chickens would roost on the bar.  They especially liked it in the winter I am told… not sure about that, but that is what I am told. 🙂 Here is a picture… can you imagine chickens sitting on that bar down the side of Annie?

-Annie with Chicken Roost Steering!

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-J.I. Case was a Scottish-American (the collies cheer!!!) and he was one gruff, to the point brutally honest sort of guy.  Once one of the Threshing Machines (which was Case’s specialty in its early years) he had sold wouldn’t work. So they sent a salesman, then a specialist both of which could not get it to work right. So, old Jerome Case hopped a train and showed up to work on the Threshing machine.  He worked on it all afternoon and could not get it to work.  Finally, he asked the farmer if he had some kerosene.  Case took the Kerosene and poured it over the Threshing Machine and lit it on fire. He then bowed and left and the next day a new Threshing Machine was delivered to the farmer to replace the one that did not work.

-Here is Jerome Increase Case himself…..

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=Case also owned Jay-Eye_see the only horse to hold speed records in trotting and Pacing.  But, Jay-Eye-See wasn;t the only famous animal for Case.  A army mascot of the Civil War, called Old Abe, a Bald Eagle who was carried into battle upon a perch with its wings spread and screeching  was so admired by Case he adopted old Abe as the Logo for J.I. Case Company.  Old Abe was a female, so the name makes one smile, but she lived at the Wisconsin State Capitol after the war and died in a fire. Then her remains were preserved and she perched over the Capitol Door to the Chambers until another fired detroyed the Capitol Building and her remains. Until 1969 Old Abe was on every piece of their machinery and almost all the parts too.  Old Abe is still honored today for she is part of the logo for the famous 101st Airborne!

 

-Old Abe logo for Case….

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-The real Old Abe!!!

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-So that is a bit about J.I. Case, the company, its Logo, his honesty and his famous race horse.  Annie and I have had a love-hate relationship.  I liked her and bought her… then found out all her problems and hated her, the more the costs went up the more I regretted buying her.  Then she started back up and I began to like her again.  Old tractors have personalities, just like humans.  Annie is like that old workhorse that is loyal, reliable, hard working, gentle yet if you mess with her in the wrong way you will pay.  I have to admit, much to the chagrin of some other Allis fans that I have come to admire Annie…. I can;t wait to find out what she can do in the future……

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-Hmmmm… maybe we can get J.I. Case out here to burn her.. muwahahahahahaaha

 

 

 

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Going For Gas

From time to time we post about other tings here at the meadow and today we will talk about Annie, my 1949 Case Sc….  tomorrow we go back to the collies.. I promise. 🙂

During the past week I finished up the decals on Annie and sealed up her exhaust pipe and waited…waited for the weekend.  To test her and take her for a ride and to go to the gas station with her to gas her up for next Saturday’s parade.  Well, after taking lil Hallie for a walk I went out and checked Annie’s gas level with a yardstick.  Great, oil and anti-freeze great.  Checked the decals, doing well and then checked the exhaust pipe and it looked good and dry.

I turned on the gas went around making sure she is in neutral and flipped the on switch on and talked to her saying “let’s go old girl” and hit the starter button.  Instantly she jumped to life and with a growl snorted to life and then sat there and purred…..I have to admit I grinned….. she was running great!

I picked up Old Allis’ blanket that I use to cover them when working on them, to wipe up fluids and to wrap around the gas filler hole to keep gas off the paint and climbed on her.  A bit more gas and I put her in gear. Now Annie has a hand clutch so no pushing of a pedal, just moving the clutch lever.  I slowly let push the clutch lever forward and Annie made her throaty bellowy chugging noise and rolled forward out of the garage.

 

I stopped her there and took pictures and then we headed to the neighbor’s for a visit where I let her idle.  Then we took off again with Annie giving that throaty bellow as we took off and we rolled along the road at her slow comfortable pace.  Now Annie’s seat is on a spring loaded bar which unlike my WC’s does not have a shock absorber on it so you pleasantly rock up and down wherever you go.. bouncy, bouncy, bouncy… its actually quite fun.

We rolled along and made the turn into town and rolled along as cars passed us , some in annoyance because their lives are in a hurry and other passed waving, giving thumbs up or looking and grinning.  Annie didn’t care she just pleasantly purred along perfectly and climbed the hill with the governor kicking in with her throaty response and up we went and then rolled along by the gas station.

We turned in and went through the lot with people staring and other’s trying to ignore us as is normal, but of course they couldn’t as people pointed, some waved and gave thumbs up.

A few women looked on and grinned and most men looked on and were obviously looking Annie over.  We pulled up to the pump, I idled her down and let her idle and then turned her off.

I filled her with gas and went in and paid and came out as a couple pulled up next to us and the guy grinned and nodded to me.  I could see people watching as I hit the starter button and Annie fired right up.  Instantly you could see the guys griing for here was this ancient tractor starting better than half the cars there.  We rolled off with her sounding nice and took off down the road.

The WC, Molly, goes down the road like she means business and the B, Old Allis goes down  the road like a Model T tackling everything is a active way, but Annie is different. She just plods along carefree like.  Never working, never changing speed she is a workhorse type spirit ready to do what needs to be done and the world around her can be collapsing and she would just keep running not worrying about anything…..

We rolled into the driveway and I pulled her into the garage and let her idle for a few minutes.  She purred contentedly just a happy old tractor who seems to be glad to just be running…..

She is done.  Except for the fenders one of which needs some major repairs for it was damaged by someone years ago.  I am thinking of painting them Desert Sunset (a tan color used by Case after Annie’s time) just make her unique.

So, here are the pictures of Annie…..  the first one is before when she came home a worn out wreck with a cracked head, burnt valves, broken valve springs, a messed up carb, electrical problems, leaking from every place imaginable yet running even then.   Then you see her now…even though I was there for each step I can hardly believe this is the same tractor…..  but she is…. a stubborn streak in her like any good workhorse she is however, unlike the WC, a gentle type who does her work slowly and methodically…. I may be an Allis guy but this old Case has a piece of my heart….

 

-Before

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-today,,,,,

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-Those of you interested look up Desert Sunset paint for Case and let me know if you think the fenders would look good int hat color… if you like. So, that is Annie…. two years of hard work……

 

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