Picture of the day - September 22, 2007

A rusty old McCormick Farmall tractor

Photo courtesy of Patricia Yliniemi. Today's picture features a rusty old McCormick Farmall farm tractor, one of a handful of true icons from my childhood days. Although photographer Patricia Yliniemi discovered this one sitting in the edge of a field in northern Minnesota, it looks just like one of the well-used old models that we had way back when on our small Widener Valley, Virginia farm. My dad was never really a farmer in the traditional sense of the word, but he always raised a crop of tobacco and "put out a garden" to help make ends meet. The vast majority of the work done in our fields was done the old-fashioned way. Us younger kids were given the job of "pullin' weeds" while the older ones followed us through the field row-by-row alongside mom and dad, garden hoes in hand, chopping out the weeds that were too large to be pulled. And of course all of this back-breaking work was usually done during the hottest part of the day so that "the weeds would have the best chance of dying". Sometimes I got the feeling that us kids were the ones most likely to expire! Yep, most of our "farm work" was done the old-fashioned way because tractors were expensive and our family simply couldn't afford one, but I can recall a few times when dad or one of my older brothers "found a good deal" on an old used tractor. We would all stand by and watch with immense pleasure and thanksgiving in our hearts as each of those old tractors chugged along through the garden with a set of cultivators doing the work of "half-a-dozen" kids. But the good times inevitably came to an end when the tractor broke down and we found out why it had been such a good deal...then it was back to pulling weeds and hoeing. I can remember us having at least three of four of those old tractors at various times during my childhood, and to the best of my recollection each and every one of them was a McCormick Farmall similar to the one pictured above. Our land was pretty "hilly" so dad was somewhat afraid of "tricycle" style tractors, but I do remember us having at least one of them. It's been quite a few years since I've done any farm work to speak of, but looking back on those times I now realize just how hard a time dad and mom had trying to keep food on our table. Dad has been with the Lord for seven years now, and it would tickle me to no end to get to help him "work" his garden just one more time. He so loved to "raise a garden", and I believe in my heart that his mansion in heaven has one out back. And while I'm sure there aren't any weeds in it, I'll bet he has a brand spanking new McCormick Farmall to ride around on!   Visit the POTD Archives for previous "Pictures Of The Day"!     Submit a photo of your own!            Why I publish the "Picture of the Day"