1918 Spring planting

MFDAC

MFDAC

Tractorologist
Senior Member
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I was under the weather today, so started doing some photo work for Loree. This one was on a CD. Wish I had the original to scan at higher resolution, but it's still pretty good. It is my wife's great grandfather on the tractor and it is captioned Spring planting, Mora, MN, 1918. Can anyone ID the tractor? Looks like 4 more guys on the plow would be helpful too!

DAC

Grandpa Butch Spring planting 1918 Bronson farm Mora Mn.jpg
 
Those plows are pretty setup where you drop the bottoms front to back as you start, then lift what ever one hits a obstruction. The tractor is probably so slow that one man on the plow platform could keep up.
 
cjet69 said:
Here is a Big 4 that sold at Aumann Auction.

www.aumannvintagepower.com

Massive Piece Of American History Selling At Auction

In 2021 Al decided to part with the Blomgren Big 4 Thirty. The tractor will be sold on the Aumann Vintage Power Pre-30 Auction on April 24, 2021 in Nokomis, Illinois.
www.aumannvintagepower.com www.aumannvintagepower.com
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Great reading on that tractor..
One of the strangest engine configurations using headless cylinders. Screenshot_20240327-052949.png
 
I followed the restoration of that tractor it was amazing the crankshaft was 8 foot long, he had is cast and machined at a machine shop on the Mississippi river near Red Wing but I'm thinking on the Wisconsin side its been a few years since it was completed
 
cjet69 said:
Here is a Big 4 that sold at Aumann Auction.

www.aumannvintagepower.com

Massive Piece Of American History Selling At Auction

In 2021 Al decided to part with the Blomgren Big 4 Thirty. The tractor will be sold on the Aumann Vintage Power Pre-30 Auction on April 24, 2021 in Nokomis, Illinois.
www.aumannvintagepower.com www.aumannvintagepower.com
Click to expand...
That is a very interesting story about the Big 4 tractors! The one in my picture was in the same area as this story was from, and one more interesting note from that article was a parts tractor was found in a river near Kadoka, SD. Kadoka is out this way in the Badlands! Very little farming in that area! Probably the White River that runs through that area. There was a lot of automotive and ag equipment "riprap" along rivers and creeks out here, probably everywhere that erosion was a problem. Most all of it is gone now. Thank you for that link, CJet.

JDJake said:
Looks like a Big Four or Minneapolis to me.
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Looks like you nailed it again, Jake! Thanks!
JDJake said:
Those plows are pretty setup where you drop the bottoms front to back as you start, then lift what ever one hits a obstruction. The tractor is probably so slow that one man on the plow platform could keep up.
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I've seen pics of these plow setups before with guys at each lift lever, but you are probably right that one guy could handle all 5 due to slow speeds.

4getgto said:
Great reading on that tractor..
One of the strangest engine configurations using headless cylinders. View attachment 80044
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What an interesting block and cylinder arrangement! Great picture, Bill!

CRF6179 said:
Dave Dudley could do it. Now I’ll be singing that song all day.
“Give me forty acres to turn this rig around.”
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Ha, I love that song! I bet it did take a lot of acreage to justify such a massive setup!

All this info has sure made this pic a lot of fun for me! Thank-you all for the info! Now I can talk like I actually have some tractor knowledge with the relatives when this pic comes up---LOL!

DAC
 
That is one thing I do miss about S.D. Doug, all the old interesting equipment out there. I remember the few trips I made out to Sturgis, I would pass by a place that had quite a collection of old Case farm equipment. Another area had a couple of old Army wheeled dozer/scraper combos.
 
JDJake said:
That is one thing I do miss about S.D. Doug, all the old interesting equipment out there. I remember the few trips I made out to Sturgis, I would pass by a place that had quite a collection of old Case farm equipment. Another area had a couple of old Army wheeled dozer/scraper combos.
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Do you remember where it was, Jake? We drive through Pierre a couple times a year to go to Aberdeen. Usually get off the interstate just east of Wall. Sometimes will go to Vivian on I-90 then north to Pierre.

DAC
 
JDJake said:
Both were on 34, the Case place was East of Sturgis but a little West of the Belle Fourche, I think it was a little east of Bear Butte?. The old Army equipment was before the Buffalo Chip, going West into Sturgis.
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If the Case place was near the Sturgis airport it was probably the "Black Hills Threshing Bee" grounds. Lots of vintage ag equipment around there, including tractors.

The Army equipment may have been at Ft. Meade. It's a very old Army Fort, founded about 1878 that now functions as a Veteran's Hospital and home.

DAC
 
MFDAC said:
If the Case place was near the Sturgis airport it was probably the "Black Hills Threshing Bee" grounds. Lots of vintage ag equipment around there, including tractors.

The Army equipment may have been at Ft. Meade. It's a very old Army Fort, founded about 1878 that now functions as a Veteran's Hospital and home.

DAC
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The Army equipment was outside of Ft Meade, but probably came from there back in the day. Ft Meade was the main VA I fell under when I was out there, funny thing I applied for a operator job there and was in the running for it. The Case place was before a pretty good dog leg in the road, after the dog leg you get the first good view of Bear Butte.
 
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