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…

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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) .

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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.

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Something Different, Old Abe!!!

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…

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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) .

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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.

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She Comes Home…..

We showed up in near 90 degree heat to pick up the old Case and I put a couple of gallons of gas in her, put on a SMV sign, loaded up my tools and talked to the guy who sold it to me for a while .

I got his address, email and phone and will update him on the old tractor as we progress.  We found out we are both Lutherans and have some friends in common.

I hit the starter and she roared to life and sat there chugging perfectly.  It took a little effort to get her moving in 4th gear but I figured it out with the hand clutch and off we chugged.  Down the big hill to cross a four lane road with a traffic light there. Once past it I had a country drive with wide shoulders so I never had to touch the main road.

The light turned green and off I went across the divided 4 laner and onto the wide shoulder with the Case deep throated chugging echoing across the small valley there.  People waved, gave the thumbs and I had to grin.

As we chugged along, I listened to her run and she was steady and strong and I had to smile as the seat bounced me up and down steadily due to the tires and the dips in the shoulder.

Now, the temp gage doesnt work so I watched and we hit a bump and I saw anti-freeze roll down the sides so I stopped at the next corner and sure enough the radiator cap wasnt tight. I also found the dome on the air cleaner wasnt tight also.

Then off we went and I didnt push her just ran her along average speed not working nor logging slow…. oil pressure 25 pounds….. the amp meter jiggling.. not sure if it works or is even connected correctly to the alternator.

The rear end ran quiet except downhill and when I slowed down when she would whine a bit, but nothing abnormal.  Meanwhile the engine kept chugging steadily and I found I really liked driving her.  A nice riding machine for a tractor and as she moved you could feel no strain, lots of power to spare.

No smoke, no big leaks and the steady chugging made me relax as were slowly rolled towards home about 4 miles away.

As we pulled up I down throttled slowly and she reacted perfectly and we swung into the driveway.  There I found she doesnt steer as sharp as the WC.  But, we turned around and I go to park her in the new space after we took pictures.  The collies of course welcomed her home with a salvo of barking that drowned out even that old tractor. 🙂

The big test getting her into a tight spot.  I moved her slowly in using the hand clutch and came to find I like it better than the foot clutch… I felt I had more control. We slowly, gently backed into the tight spot with the big old girl chugging loudly as I gingerly moved the hand clutch. It was a perfect parking and placement.  As she sat there idling I saw the gas leaking off the line going into the carb and a bit of gas smoke coming up until I gave her  bit of throttle and it cleared up.

As I shut her down I had to smile for what a joy it was to drive.  Cant wait to make it look better and to do some work on it.

Here are some pictures….

Right after we got home…. This tractor was built in 1949.  The serial number tells me, if the information is right, that it was not built in Racine, WI but at their Rock Island, IL plant sometime in August, 1949.  This is now my biggest tractor at 4,200 pounds or 2.1 tons.

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Here we are again.  Now, everything at the Meadow has a name.  We rely upon our tractors for special jobs and they, like our collies, like our family, get taken care of.  The Allis Chalmers B is called Allison or old Allis.  The Allis Chalmers WC is called Molly…. no reason for the name.,. just seemed to fit! LOL….

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Here I am next to this tractor… she is a big girl and has lots of power to spare.  But, she also has her special name…..  my wife is a fan of Anne of Green Gables and as I listened the other day as I worked on information about the tractor I heard Anne going on about how she wished her name was Cordelia! LOL…. I thought now that is what I should call that old tractor… but I couldnt do it.  It is a proud old machine…….  later as the movie played I heard someone going on about Anne’s hair… how it was red and her eventual husband years later called her carrot!  LOL…. Now, Case tractors are painted Flambeau Red… but I always thought it was more orange than red…. and I laughed when I heard that… what a perfect name for a “Red” tractor faded to the color of carrot orange… so we call her Annie….

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Here I am parking this behemoth into her summer parking spot at the end of the garage in front of Old Allis and Molly.  You sort of get the idea of how big she is here….  I really likes the hand clutch, she moves so gently and perfectly with it….

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Now I measured the garage and the tractors and came up with a arrangement so we can get them all in there and my Chevy HHR also (she has a name too…)  and then we put the final touch… this is my wife’s tractor… um…. yeah… no words needed here I think….  Welcome Home Annie! 🙂

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Here I am backing here in for the first time…. you can see my other tractors behind her….. nice fit… 🙂

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So, that is the story of my 1949 Case SC tractor…. it is going to be a two year project… mechanics next year and painting the year after…….as you can see I am sort of partial to orange colored tractors…

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