Jeff Green | Jul 17, 2008
Feature Article - July 17, 2008

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Feature Article - July 17, 2008 A relic of a bygone era brought back to lifeBy Jean CampbellIn 1930, the depression years or the dirty thirties, although times were hard Glenn's dad, Elgin Campbell somehow managed to buy a brand new Allis Chalmers tractor. Mind you, back in those days there were no bells or whistles, rubber or air conditioning on these models, which could only be started with a crank.
For the first few years it was only used for running the threshing machine (in season on many of the surrounding farms in the former Hinchinbrooke and Bedford Townships. Later on it was used on the farm for ploughing and working the land. The last work the tractor did was in 1970 when Heather and Doug Fox built their home on the farm. The tractor was then parked in our yard where it sat for the next 38 years, only used for the grand-children to play on or something to tie the dog to when necessary.Then, on October 15, 2006, a man with the patience of Job came by. He had a passion for restoring old relics and wanted to buy the tractor to do just that. A deal was made. This man was none other than Joe Climie of Oconto area south of Sharbot Lake.
After digging the tractor out of earth and weeds accumulated over the years, Joe single-handedly managed to load it on his trailer. As he was leaving, he quipped, "When I get it running I will give you a call". Glenn and I were both skeptical at the time and didn't think we would live long enough to see that happen.
In fact he had the tractor running the following May, but blew a head gasket and had to wait until the following winter when they went to Florida to acquire the hard to come by parts. So it was back to the drawing board with more sweat and hard labour. In May of this year he had it running again and called us to come see.
Joe says if he can get permission from the fair board and the township he may have it on display at Parham Fair in its original condition or as close as he could get. When we went to see it, it was purring like a kitten as it did many
many years ago, much to our surprise. It brought back many memories of the threshing era in our little corner of the world.
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