I was mowing at the Western Museum of Mining and Industry the other day (one of my favorite places in the world), using the Museum’s 1960 Ford model 661 tractor and brush hog mower. It has a 5 spd transmission, 38hp., live pto and hydraulics, but it still drives and looks somewhat like the Ford 8N that was the first tractor I ever drove. As it always does, the museum’s Ford took me back about 51 years to a field on my Uncle Wilson’s farm in East Homer, NY.
The occasion was a yearly ritual known to most every farmer in Cortland County NY, and many other counties, there, also. It was the day of “pickin’ stone”. Most of my uncles were there to help Wilson with the job, which is something that to this day often still ends up being done the old fashioned way- by bending over, picking up the stones and placing them in or on whatever conveyance is handiest. Naturally, the more hands are available, the quicker the job gets done. I was 4 or 5 years old on this particular day, and I wanted to help, but of course I was too small to be of much help actually handling the stones, so I was put on the 8N to steer as it idled along in low gear pulling the “stoneboat”, which I think was nothing more than an old barn door with maybe a couple of skids bolted on to the bottom of it to prevent wear, and a chain or cable attached to either side and looped around the tractor’s draw pin to pull it. It had the advantage of being low to the ground, thereby not requiring the pickers to lift the rocks very far to load it.
Putting me on the tractor was almost certainly just a way to keep me quiet and out of harm’s way while Dad and the others did the real work, but I had ridden with Wilson and my dad on this tractor (and on Wilson’s other tractor, an Oliver 70 or 77 row crop), many times. For those who don’t know what a Ford 8N (and the later 661) is like, they are utility tractors, which means that they are low slung for good stability, have a relatively short wheelbase, provided by a front axle that is swept back so that the front of the front tires is about even with the nose of the tractor, and the operator sits with his feet astraddle of the transmission housing and his rear end above the tractor’s rear axle. The 8N had about 20 hp and a 4spd transmission and was the third version of Ford tractor with the now ubiquitous 3 point hitch. On the 8N, there are nice footrest pans and the clutch pedal is on the left side of the transmission and works vertically, so that the operator needs only to lift his foot slightly and then press the pedal don until it rests on the footrest. The brakes (one for each rear wheel), have pedals that work similarly and they are both located above the right footrest, oriented so that if you want to stop in a straight line, you can step on both pedals at the same time. The operator is also protected from the rear wheels by fenders which I have always though were pretty cool because the have the Ford emblem embossed into them, and the emblem is painted red, so it stands out from the gray fenders really well. All in all, it was a pretty good place to stash a tractor loving 5 year old!
As we approached one end of the field, my uncle Chet, who at that time still lived not far away in the village of Tully, stepped in front of the tractor and bent over a stone that was partially embedded in the dirt, and he didn’t straighten up right away, which scared me! He was probably a good 50 feet or more ahead of the tractor, and I’m sure he was aware of it coming slowly toward him, but from my perspective at the time, he appeared to be right in front of the tractor. Sitting in the seat, my field of vision was pretty limited, so I stood up, which helped a little, but not much, because the footrests are located toward the bottom of the transmission case, which is probably a good foot tall. Chet was still not visible, so I yelled at him to get out of the way! He either didn’t respond or told me not to worry, so I stepped on the clutch and the brakes like I’d seen Wilson and Dad do. The tractor stopped like I knew it would, and you should have seen people stand up then! None of them had any inkling that I might know how to stop and start the tractor!
Since that day, I have driven almost everything you can drive (on land anyway), with a few exceptions: I would love to drive a John Deere 8010 someday, and also a mine haul truck. I would also like to run a railroad engine sometime (both a steamer and a diesel!). I don’t know if I’ll ever get the chance to try any of these, but maybe someday!
To this day, I have a real soft spot for the Ford 8N. Not only is it a fun, stylish, little tractor to drive, but I like the gray and red color scheme, too. Later, in the very early 60’s, Ford switched it’s tractors to a gray and blue color scheme, which has continued to this day with the New Holland tractors that are the present day descendants of the Ford tractor line. I happen to think that this particular shade of blue is horrendous, maybe because I liked the 8N with it’s gray and red so well. During the time frame when Ford switched colors, there was a period when you could buy a new red and gray tractor and if you wanted, the dealer would paint the red areas blue at Ford’s expense, and I think this is what happened with the 661 at the museum. It has red underneath the blue, and sometime, I would like to paint it red again. I’d also like to find an affordable 8N, but that is unlikely, because they are still very useful, and thus very popular and expensive.
The stone pickin’ episode is not the only good memory I have of the 8N, but the others will have to wait…
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