Collection of Farm Memories

Old yarns and tall tales add color to traditional farm practices

By Robert N. Pripps
Published on April 5, 2022
article image
courtesy of Robert N. Pripps

Preserving the past isn’t all serial numbers and engine specifications. Sometimes, as Bob Pripps proves in this collection of stories, it’s a matter of remembering the small moments of life on the farm. Who among us doesn’t cherish a wisp of a story shared by a relative long since deceased? Enjoy these random memories of good-natured fun, pure ingenuity and lessons learned the hard way!

Which end is up?

My grandfather had a Farmall Cub that he was using to rake hay. At noon, he unhitched the rake and drove the Cub in for lunch. Some of my cousins and I picked up the Cub, turned it around and placed it back in its tracks facing in the opposite direction. You should have seen the look of confusion on Granddad’s face when he came out after lunch! –Duane Carden, deceased

blue ford-ferguson tractor

Putting frozen manure to work

It amazes me that it took so long for the car-hauler trailer, an item now routinely used to transport small-to-medium sized tractors, to be invented. Back in the day, most farms and businesses had what was known as a loading dock. This was a raised platform with a ramp. A dealer, for example, would deliver a tractor to a farm and simply back his flatbed truck up to the dock and drive it off. In fact, that’s how he got the tractor onto the truck, by using his own loading dock.

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