I am located in central Indiana. My interest is mainly in antique tractors. I collect, repair, restore, show
and pull. Mostly John Deere, but also have some red, orange and grey tractors the collection also.
My story is a very familiar one. I was born and raised on a farm. My childhood was centered around farm life
and since we raised cattle, hogs and chickens there were always a lot of chores. When I was very young, I was fascinated
by tractors. Some of my fondest moments of my childhood, included riding on my Dad's lap and he would let me steer
(I could not reach the pedals) the tractor through the fields. One of my favorite things to do was plowing. I
always enjoyed driving the tractors and seeing the freshly turned soil. A forty acre plowed field was quite
an accomplishment, when you only have an 8N Ford and a Farmall F-20 both pulling 2 bottom plows.
After high school, The US Air Force turned my life in a different direction. That began my career in Electronics.
While it was an interesting career, not nealy as "satisfying" as my days on the farm.
Sometime in the late 80's, I was at the Indiana Stae Fair watching an Antique Tractor Pull. One older gentleman
and his son caught my attention. They were both pulling John Deere G's. I had never seen one before. As
a kid there were not many "Putt-Putts" in our area, mostly Farmalls. I later walked over to their "pit area"
and introduced myself to Pete Rennick and his son Bob. Pete pulled the "Unstyled" G and Bob's was the "Styled" G.
They both were proving to be very impressive on the pulling strip. That is when I got "the bug" that has affected so
many others. When I got home, I started looking for an old John Deere. Thanks to a neighbor, I learned about an
"abandoned" John Deere B at the edge of a woods about a mile from the nearest road. After finding the owner and doing
a little negotiating, the B was sitting at home in my "one car attached garage" in our home. I learned a lot in a few
months about some of the "how not to do" things about restoring a tractor. In a few months it was running with new paint
and tires. When my neighbor asked me to use it to rake some hay for him, I felt almost like the little boy who was steering
the old F-20. Since then, I have addded some more tractors, all have their own "story" to tell. I am especially
proud of the 1948 John Deere G, called "The BLACK DEMON" (pulling tractor). We have travelled many miles with The Black
Demon to National Antique Tractor Pulls. My family has enjoyed many events, pulls and parades with our tractors.
I am very greatful that my wife (Carol) has had the patience to allow me the time to work with this hobby. But
it is safe to say that she does not understand me, since she does not share the "passion" for the old iron like I do - guess
you have to be raised with the old iron to love it.
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