The Parade (Video Too!)

In the early morning dew and mist the old guy checked everything, flipped the on switch and hit the starter button.  Instantly Annie came to life and sat there purring with pure happiness.   He climbed up on her and put her in first gear and slowly pushed the hand clutch lever forward and with a throaty bellow old Annie rolled forward and rolled down out of the garage onto the driveway and up under the Maple where she sat idling for a few minutes as the old guy took pictures, cleaned her off with a soft blankie and loaded up some tools just in case.

Then the old guy jumped on Annie and increased the throttle and put her in fourth gear and let out the clutch lever and with a throaty deep bellow Annie rolled towards the road and onto it and away they went with Annie purring along unconcerned with the world around her, sounding happy with the old guy bouncing on the spring loaded seat from the big cleated agriculture tires running uneven on the cement until they gained enough speed to run smoothly.  Around the corner she went and began the long climb into town…Cars passed by but Annie just purred along happily.

Up over the hill they went and then the next turn came and Annie purred around it and headed up the curvy road to the meeting point.  Ahead he could see donkeys, other tractors, some cars and other floats.  HE pulled up and the people putting people in line smiled and laughed saying “so, they gave your 1949 Case the number 49….

As they lined up and Annie sat there purring up pulled a machine, a self driven baler the old guy had seen at a earlier tractor show and it was driven by a friend of his father and so he was able to sit there for a half hour talking to him and the people behind him who had a John Deere from 1941.  It was nice but then the WWII Navy fighter planes roared overhead signalling the beginning of the parade in the bright, clear blue skies with the soft west wind blowing.

Off they went heading for the main drag and the old guy grinned and patted Annie on her gas tank as they rolled along and then they turned the corner crawling along into a mammoth crowd of people on both sides of the road.  Children lined the curbs and waved and flags were waving and the old guy was in awe.  Watching the children, waving back at people, talking to people as they yelled compliments or asked a question as well as keeping his eyes on the flow of the parade making sure he had a safe distance between himself and the machine in front of him kept him busy.

Soon, he saw a few people he knew who cheered and yelled compliments about Annie which made the old guy smile and think about what a wreck Annie had been at one time.   Soon, he saw people show waved and called him by name and he felt bad for he could not at that moment remember who they were.

As they rolled along Annie never missed a beat running better than ever and the old guy felt very proud of Annie, not for anything her did, but that she was running so well because she was built so well, a true American piece on ingenuity.   Because they were going so slow the big treads on the rear tires kept the old guy bouncing up and down on the seat and someone yelled “like riding on air”?  Sort of…. the spring makes it soft the old guy yelled and he rolled on bouncing.

Soon, he saw a man and his family and their son who had sat on Annie a while back and they all waved and the son was yelling.. “The Tractor!!! The tractor! Hi chuck!”  The old guy waved back and smiled.   Then an old man in the crowd stood up and pumped his fist in the air and screamed “CASE!!!!!!!”  The old guy waved backed and laughed and then little kids along the way waved and people were giving thumbs up signals and the old guy patted Annie again… after all they weren;t cheering him, they were cheering everyone and especially those old machines who still get it done yet are so old.

 

As they rolled past the announcer the old guy heard someone yelling and it was his son and his friends and a few men nodding and pointing yelling “Nice!”  As they rolled on the end came and as they turned the corner the old guy stopped Annie and put her in fourth and off they went with a bellow and then he opened her up and let her fly down the road and then a couple more turns and they were back at the starting point and the old guy kept Annie rolling till they passed it and headed back onto the road home.

As they rolled along with Annie still purring steadily cars passed and people waved and he figured they must have seen Annie at the parade.  They rolled down the hill around the corner and up into the drive and stopped in front of the garage as Annie sat there purring and the old guy patted her hood for she hadn’t missed or sputtered at all.  Amazing is all he could think, just amazing.

He wiped her down and then put her in her spot in the garage and he idled her down and turned off the gas to empty out the carb and gas line so she won;t drip gas out of the carb onto her paint.  Finally she stopped and the old guy finished shining her up and then he looked long and hard at Annie remembering how bad of shape she was in.  He put his arm over her hood and sort of hugged the old tractor and said “Good job old girl… good job.”  Annie sat there and then her radiator gurgled softly as if she was saying thank you……

What was amazing about this whole thing is that as I watched the people they weren’t cheering on the people but they were cheering the machines and the people at most got cheers for the restoration they did on the machines.  I never saw so many people at a parade in my life and it was a lot of fun….  but the cheering for Annie, the other old farm machines, trucks and cars and such were because these old machines fed the world or enabled others to work to feed the world and still survive and it also brings back memories and brings a glimpse into the past that so many people fondly remember or have read about.   Myself, I came away from today with a deeper respect and love for Annie.  Despite her being a wreck, despite her abuse, despite her age she survived it all and today proved she still can run like new at the age of 65.  I respect her and am finally ready to say I am glad I bought her……  it was a lot of work, but I only put her back together, her quality and toughness helped her to survive and now shows as she purrs along contentedly.  Way to go Annie…. way to go….

Here is the Video of us in the parade…..

 

 

-here we come!

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

-Annie is purring like a kitten….

–

—

–

–

–

–

 

–

-rolling by…..

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0 There we go!  Collies tomorrow….

Read Full Post »

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

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

-today,,,,,

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

—

–

–

-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……

 

Read Full Post »

Amazing!!!

 -Every time I see her it is amazing how she changes…. she used to be so worn out and ugly…..

–

–

-Look he is getting the plow ready too….

–

–

–

 

 

_Annie…. the right rear side is now painted! A few pics…

Read Full Post »

Was Real!

On my Case Tractor the log is of Old Abe, a real life eagle who was the mascot (yes, she went into battle with the Wisconsin Regiment during the civil war and the Rebels shot at her, but never hit her.) of the Wisconsin Volunteer 8th Regiment, Company C.A Native American of the Lac Du Flambeau Ojibwa tribe captured her (Flambeau Red later became the color of Case Tractors) and she was sold to a

farmer for a bushel of corn and then sold by the farmer to the soldiers for $2.50.Company C made a special perch for Old Abe and she went into every battle, including the battle of Corinth where half of the 8th regiment was killed. She would spread her wings and screech as they charged into battle and the Rebels hated it shooting at her and calling her that damned Yankee Buzzard!

Several of the carriers of her perch were killed under her and while her feathers were grazed by bullets, Old Abe made it through without a wound. She was so respected that when General Grant, Sherman and Rosecrans passed by they took off their caps in respect.

Old Abe retired to the Wisconsin State Capitol after the war yet made many appearances such as the 1880 Grand Army of the Republic Convention and the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia.

Old Abe became the insignia for the famed 101st Airborne, still one of the most feared fighting units of the US Army, she is the team namesake of several high school football teams and in 1869 she became the Logo of the Case Threshing Company, later the JI Case Company who now is merged with International Harvester and New Holland into the biggest agricultural company in the world. Case retired Old Abe in 1969 after 100 years as the Logo.

Old Abe passed away due to smoke inhalation in a fire at the Wisconsin State Capitol in 1881. She was preserved and mounted in the capitol as the main centerpiece until 1904 when another fire at the State Capitol burned her remains and most of the Capitol building down.

Named after Abraham Lincoln, Old Abe lived up to her symbol as the official bird of USA on the National Seal as a true friend in peace and a fierce warrior in battle.

Below is her picture…

–

–

Living by a River we have Eagles fly over and we think of Old Abe when they do….. *Salute*  Here is Rutherford B. Hayes(who is named after a President who was also a war hero in the Civil War watching a bird fly over) .

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

Here is Old Abe as the Case Company Logo on the side of a Flambeau red Case Tractor….. This logo is stamped on almost every part on my Case Tractor……, there is no mistaking who made the tractor for Case made sure it was everywhere and to this day it is in farm country one of the best known logos although out of use for over 40 years.

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

Read Full Post »

Moving Forward

Today, it was sunny but cooler so I played with the collies and spent the day stripping down the front bottom behind the axle, the frame around the radiator and the hood to get it ready to prime and paint tomorrow.   I caught gasoline at a low price and put some in the collies transport unit #1 and bought some stainless steel bolts, nuts, metal screws and washers so that in the future I won’t have to repaint these things if I need to take the hood off or the grill off.  Stainless is shiny and it doesn’t rust. 🙂  In time I will go to that on my two Allis’.

Apparently I read the schedule wrong for Football. Liverpool plays at 11 AM EST on Talksport.com not Saturday.  A win by Chelsea temporarily, until Liverpool plays, has put them in first by one point. So, a tieat least to tie for first or preferably a win by the Reds is needed.  So, GO REDS!!!!!!  Tomorrow is a big day with only 6 games left.

–

–

–

GO YOU REDS!!!!

=

=

The ground is showing again and the old Case SC is coming along…. so a busy and productive weekend so far.  Oh, my son and I also are cleaning out one half of the front bench for I figured if I rip that half out I can gain four feet in the Garage in length…..  🙂  I don;t need the bench so we are busy rearranging too…. as the collies frolic on celebrating the pools being full of water and not ice.. 🙂

Read Full Post »

Red? Reds!!!! What do you think?

For our pure collie post check our earlier post from today about Lil Hallie. 🙂

Right now , after a productive morning of working on the tractors, we are listening to Liverpool on the net.  2 minutes in and the Reds go up on a goal shot that bounced off a Tottenham defender!  1-0 the Reds lead and now they are on the attack again as the crowd roars in Anfield!  A tie puts them in first place in a tie with Chelsea but the Reds would win the Title…. a win puts them up by two points over Chelsea and in the driver’s seat for the Championship with Chelsea and Manchester City coming to Anfield in the closing games.  The crowd is roaring… I am trying to keep occupied for I am a wreck for I want them to win so badly.. heheheh

Today as I cleaned up the other wheel to paint I found the original Flambeau Red under the other layers of paint….. I put the repainted lug nut in to show you how close it is in color. Now, the wheel is Flambeau Red  and the lug nut is Power Red. Of course I use “red” only because Case did.    Power Red is a shade lighter than Flambeau Red and even more orange.  I like FLambeau Red better but I remember all the Case tractors when I was a kid.  You see, Flambeau red faded badly…. worse than any other tractor colors.  When it faded it turned….  PINK!!!!  Well, I thought long and hard about the paint.. I don’t care for power red as much, however, it doesn’t fade.  Plus, it is more Orange and with my Allis’ it sort of matches them more.  So, take a look and see what you think…

 

***UPDATE***  Liverpool 2-0 lead and the Reds are heading towards first place!!!!  Anfield is rocking and so is our home… GO REDS!!!!!  Luis Suarez scores the goal!!!!

–

–

If you look at the wheel you will see the upper left is more red… the wheel curves and the light angle is different…. where the lug nut is is also flambeau red at the same angle… how close is that shade?  Then look inside the curve of the center of the wheel.. same color but it really looks red…. as you can see it looks different in the same light with just different angles….

=

=

=

=

=

–

another shot and you can see the reddish orange better in the top left corner…. in this picture I can see the shade difference… so what do you think about the colors?

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

-You know Fambeau means flame…. so I think if we set it on fire the color would be perfect.. heheheheheeh

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

GO REDS!!!!!!!!!!!  FIRST PLACE  here they come!

–

for more info on the work on the Case SC go to our sister blog at:

http://myoldallis.wordpress.com/

Read Full Post »

Orange or Silver? Your Choice…..

–

–

We say Silver!!!!!

–

–

–

–

–

–

We say Orange… it is not Red… it is Orange…

=

=

=

=

–

–

Silver, Orange, Silver, Orange….. SILVER!!!  ORANGE!!!!

–

–

–

–

–

I lil Hallie have a idea… we will let our readers choose… While dad likes to restore his old tractors close to original, he likes to give them a personal twist.  So, he wants to do his Case in a Flame out… or all Flambeau Red or Orange as we call it….

–

Others of us want the orange out but with the original silver colored back rims…. so you vote…. which do you like better?

=

=-

–

–

Here is the orange out….. everything is orange…. er.. Flambeau Red.. cough.. cough…

–

–

-or

–

–

–

Or… the back rims silver…….

–

–

–

–

–

–

I think he should paint it Persian Orange instead… like an Allis Chalmer…..

Read Full Post »