Oklahoma Farming Heritage Association
Website Photo’s of the Month

For November, Allyn used a picture of my,
recently acquired 1936 Case, Model L

Oklahoma Farming Heritage Association

Website Photo’s of the Month

For July, Allyn used a picture of Miles Merritt’s 1930 Farmall Regular

I asked Miles to tell me more about this tractor. Here’s what I learned.

Miles acquired this tractor in 1957. For the first two years, he used it primarily, belted to a hammer mill making hog feed. I think he said he was feeding over 30 brood sows at the time.

Miles told me that the tractor sat idle from 1968 until 1999. He and his family then attended the Spaulding Tractor Show. They got hooked!!

They came home, put it in the shop, replaced some gaskets and seals, did a valve job and cleaned and painted. Looks mighty nice!! In 2004 (I think he said) he acquired a 1929 Regular and now has that restored, running and looking good!!!

Here's a picture of his 1929 Farmall Regular

For the Website’s August Photo of the Month, Allyn has several pictures of his Dad working on a road construction crew with horses.

Early 1930 Road Building Crew
Constructing Highway 51 south of Ringwood OK

Charles Salaska Road Construction Crew

Anyone know what the dirt mover is called?

Allyn offers this additional info:

My dad, Simon Warkentin, worked on this construction crew for his cousin Charles Salaska. My uncle (mothers side), Harry Wichert, also was one of the crew and is second from left in the posed picture. Dad told many stories over the years and up until his death could still remember the names of most of the horses in the pictures. The earth mover is called a "Fresnos" and I found this description on another website. Charlie was careful with his horses. Note the resting replacements and that he used 4 to pull the Fresnos.

"Last item of the earth-moving equipment was that of the "Fresnos", horse-drawn scrapers operated by a single man. They resembled half of a 50-gallon water tank, one edge which had been sharpened; the other equipped with a long steel handle to which a rope was attached. It could scrape up a load of previously loosened soil, and then drag it to the edge of the road. Then an upward push on the handle by the operator would dump the load; a pull on the rope would position it, ready for the next scrape-and-dump operation. Fresnos were most commonly used with a single horse, but, on occasion, two were used when the loads were heavy, or otherwise difficult to move. In addition to the Fresnos, there was a supply of such items as wheelbarrows, picks and shovels!"

An interesting side note is that Charlie's son, Vernon Salaska, is now our next door neighbor to the east.

Allyn

Oklahoma Farming Heritage Assoc., Newsletter – August, 2006

My Dad’s First Tractor

By John Kinnamon

In December 1942, my dad purchased his first tractor, a 1937, Farmall F-12. It was bought new in 1938 by a neighbor, who used it on a small farm. He was very good to care for his equipment and the F-12 was in very good condition.

It came from the factory on full steel but was changed to rubber soon after. This tractor came equipped with a two row cultivator, two row disc opener planter, a 2-12 “little wonder” breaking plow and a five foot tandum disc harrow. Total cost of the tractor and this equipment was $1,000.

My dad farmed 1½ miles south of Garrets Lake Rd. on Brangus Rd.. We mostly raised cotton, corn, peanuts and sorghum feed stuff for the cows, along with some oats and wheat. The old 12 was very dependable and required very little upkeep.

Although it was pretty slow, it could do much more than the 5 or 6 horses and mules that we kept before tractor days.

Dad couldn’t get completely away from horses, so he kept a team of 2 to plant with and to pull the iron wheel wagon.

Since I was the oldest son at home, I was the tractor operator. Dad took me out of school early and I spent the years of WW-II astride the F-12.

The cultivator is a hand arm lift job. I got to be fair on the two levers required to lift and lower the plows and could turn at the ends of the rows without stopping. The hand crank had to be handled right, for it was known to kick back at you. With the breaking plow, you could do 5 or 6 acres in a long day. So you see you had to go to the field every day the fields were workable, and no long breaks at the nearest coffee shop (ha).

As time passed, dad bought a “C” Farmall new in 1948. (I still have this one too.) Then in 1951, he bought a new “H” Farmall. No longer needing the 12 he let my oldest sister and her family use it.

They kept the 12 for 37 years. In 1988, I rescued it from a sand bank and started the restoration. The engine block was broken beyond repair. I found another 12 with a sound block. We removed the original crank from the broken block, installed it in the good one along with sleeves, pistons and did a valve job. In 3 weeks time, the old 12 came to life again.

I have had the 12 at several of our shows; it was featured on our Assoc. website for the month of May, 2006. I am proud of this old machine and will pass it along to a grandson when the time comes.

Oklahoma Farming Heritage Assoc., Newsletter – June, 2006

WARKENTIN

CC CASE TRACTOR

By Chad Warkentin

My tractor was shipped to and sold new by Jensen Implement of Fairview, OK. A farmer that lived across the road from my grandfather Simon's brother, Art Warkentin, bought the CC new and used it to farm his wheat. About 7 years later the tractor was traded back to Jensen. Since Art knew the tractor from watching it across the road he decided to buy it.

I have receipts showing some of the work done by Jensen before Uncle Art took delivery. A July 15, 1944 receipt shows Jensen as the owner with rear end and motor labor at $15 each. Head gasket, rear end seal and other parts totaled $49. Then, on Aug 18, another set of receipts shows a head gasket, ring, connecting rod bolt, misc. gaskets, bearings, oil, radiator cleaning and labor totaling $96 (2.5 gal. of oil was $2.50). Art took possession of the Case on Oct 6, 1944 paying $1135 but trading in an International F14 for $585 credit. The 1936 CC Case Tractor included 11.25 x36 - 6 Ply & 5.50 x 16 Tires, Power Takeoff, Fenders, Belt Pulley and Purolator.

Uncle Art got the Case CC with the original “gooseneck” style front end and repainted Case orange. Sometime later, Art converted it to a Case wide front end and had Alvin Ratzlaff, a local farmer that later manufactured Ratzlaff plows build a front blade and install a hydraulic pump. The original front end sat around the farm for many years but has disappeared. We are guessing it went to the scrap yard. With the blade, the primary purpose of the Case was to build and maintain terraces around the farm and wheat fields.

Eventually, the CC was retired and stored in the farm round top. After Uncle Art passed away it was handed down to his son James. Sometime in the 80’s Grandpa Simon got the Case from James “on loan”. He got it running again and did a cosmetic restoration, painting it the original grey. Grandpa and I showed it at the Fairview Threshing Bee for several years before giving it back to James. It sat back in the round top until I called James and asked him if he wanted to sell it. James said I could have the tractor for free under one condition; I could never sell it or, if I did, it would have to bring 1 million dollars and he would get half.

This picture was taken right after I got the tractor home from Fairview and rebuilt the carburetor, sediment bowl, flushed the tank and did a fluids change. It typically fires off on the second crank and runs great. Three of the tires in the picture are the originals from 1944 but I have since put 4 new ones on. I use it around my place for landscaping,

pulling stumps, and pulling a trailer for firewood. I also rigged up a short boom to attach to the blade for lifting things like other tractors, cars, engines, rear axles etc. for moving around the yard. I estimate the blade has a vertical lift rating of over 1000 lbs. One thing I can say about this Case, when none of my other tractors will start I always know this one will. That is good since pulling the crank with the front blade on is something of a challenge.

A few years ago my neighbor next door started storing tractors for his son-in-law. One happened to be a 1936 CC Case and when I checked the serial number it turned out to be 56 numbers different from mine. Quite a coincidence that two tractors, possibly built on the same day, would, nearly 70 years later, end up on the same land. I eventually bought the second CC and have stored the tank and other items indoors. The tractor is rusty and the engine froze but it is complete, pretty straight and has the optional power lift on the PTO.

Here’s a picture of the old CC doing
some work with the front blade and lift.

Oklahoma Farming Heritage Assoc., Newsletter – April, 2006

The Family Tractor

by Alanna Stark