Some pieces of equipment on the farm are more than iron and paint. They carry memories, seasons and the lessons learned between daylight and dark. The tractor I’m thinking about is my dad’s 1953 Farmall Super A. It’s the one I raked hay with during my high school years. Back then, I never thought about the age of the tractor or what it meant to my dad. It was simply the tractor that I was given to drive.
Like a lot of farm equipment, time eventually caught up with it. Years passed. The tractor sat. Tires went flat. Rust crept in. It reached the point where it hadn’t been driven in years, and most folks would have written it off as something better left parked behind the barn.
But farm families don’t always see things the way “most folks” do. Instead of letting it fade into memory, we made the decision to have it restored, not just to make it run again, but to bring a piece of our family history back to life. That’s where John Paulk of Turner County, Georgia, came in. With patience, craftsmanship and respect for what the tractor represented, he took something worn down and tired and gave it new life.
When the restoration was finished, it didn’t just look good. It felt right. The sound of the engine, the way it handled, even the smell took me straight back to those hay fields decades earlier. The years in between seemed to disappear.
One of the most meaningful moments came when I had the chance to drive it in the antique tractor parade at the Sunbelt Ag Expo. Surrounded by farmers, families and members of the ag community, I eased that old tractor down the parade route. I was proud, grateful and maybe a little emotional as I drove Daddy’s tractor.
It wasn’t about showing off a restored tractor. It was about honoring where we came from. It was about remembering a dad who trusted his kid with a job and a machine that mattered. And it was about recognizing that agriculture isn’t just about the next crop or the next season, it’s about stewardship, legacy and carrying stories forward.
That tractor reminds me that while farming continues to change, the values that built it don’t. Values like hard work and caring for the land were instilled in me, along with knowing when something is worth restoring, not just because it can run again, but because it still has something to teach us. Now, I’m able to pass those lessons on by teaching both of my kids, Eli (12) and Lauren (9), how to drive Grandpa’s tractor.
Sometimes, the best way to move forward is to climb back onto the seat where it all started.
by Joy Crosby
Editor
Southeastern Peanut Farmer