Tree Tractor Sports A Built-In Sculpture

Tree Tractor Sports A Built-In Sculpture AG WORLD Ag World 20-1-20 There are a lot of unique antique tractors around but not too many come with their own built-in wood sculpture like this 1920's Farmall Regular that was forgotten years ago in a grove near Sioux Falls, S. Dak. The tractor sat for so long a cottonwood tree grew up through it, even growing around the gear shift lever which extends right through the trunk. When the present owner of the farm decided to clear out the grove, he came across the firmly anchored tractor. Nearby farmer Ralph Oliver offered to buy the tractor. He cut the tree trunk off above and below the tractor and hauled it away with the chunk of trunk still in place. It wasn't long before Oliver started taking it to antique tractor shows to give showgoers something to admire and won-der about. During a show near Grant, Iowa, Oliver brought in a wood carver to carve a face onto the chunk of wood. Farmers passing by were heard to comment: "I remember getting sore arms turning that steering wheel" and "That spring seat sure was stiff", or "The one we had sure used a lot of fuel". Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Ralph Oliver, 921 North St. Paul, Sioux Falls, S. Dak. 57103 (ph 605 338-4017).

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