Half Century brings history
It is easy to love the Half Century of Progress for many reasons. One reason I love it so is for the History at the Half Century. This show that celebrates farming fifty years ago happens every two years. So far, at every show, I have found something new. Each time there are historical tractors I have never seen before.
Ford 4000 with a Fabco Mudder.
A new tractor that I had never seen was this Ford 4,000 with the Fabco Mudder. It is owned by Dave Hobbs of Collins, Iowa. The Ford 4000 is fitted with a Fabco Mudder. “This was used in the vegetable fields in California in the mud,” Dave said. “It has the Select-O-Speed. They picked by hand and this pulled the vegetable Wagons.”
“Fabco only built four kits. Two were in the junkyard in Pennsylvania. They used rice tires they squeeze the mud out.” Dave explained. This particular tractor and kit were put together in Salinas, California. A cool piece of history at the Half Century.
Massey Ferguson Vietnam era tractor
Annie Jansen, of the Jansen Brothers garage family and I had fun checking out the show. We learned about this military tractor from the note attached. Collector John Bush also shared information with us. John had a cool Massey that a former collector had made into a Spirit of 76 tractor.
This Massey Ferguson was built for the US Department of Defense. They were built at the Southfield Defense Plant. The purpose was to move cargo off the beaches in Vietnam. This is the only tractor like this KNOWN TO EXIST!
Cook Special!
This was the neatest piece of equipment I think I saw at the show. It is hard to imagine without seeing this in action. This is a mobile corn shelling unit. Randy Rosengren the owner bought it when he was 32. He used it as a way to make a living. It is a 1964 Cook Special. Randy said it is not rare. There were a lot of them made. I was just amazed by the whole thing. To see it in action was a thing of beauty.
Can they top this?
It is hard to imagine this can be topped. This post just includes some of my picks. What were some of yours? There was so much to see and do. The answers can go on and on! I wrote about preparing for the show now that its over we will just have to wait for the next go round!
