One of the most popular displays at the Folsom Fall Festival behind the town hall this past Saturday was the wide array of old farm tractors. The International Harvester Collectors Chapter 31 of Louisiana hosted the collection, telling festival visitors about the model years, power capabilities, and original purposes of the tractors. Some of the machines had been rescued from the weeds where they had sat for years, then fully restored to showroom condition.
Click on the images to make them larger.
Helping with the cooking chores was Mike Strain DVM,
Commissioner of the Louisiana Dept. of Agriculture and Forestry
This 1950 model McCormick Farmall Cub was a favorite with visitors.
The tractor in front was totally restored after found deserted in the brier patch. It only took three years to clean it up, strip the paint and refurbish the engine.
Still runs and capable of many farm duties
The red tractor on the right was designed to tow items around docks and airports. It is reported that International Harvester made only about 20 of these units.
The variety of tractors was a hit with the kids,
both big and small.
Each tractor model had its own story, why it was designed the way it was, what it was capable of, and in many cases in the early years, purposefully configured to smoothly take over the duties formerly handled by horses and mules.
One tractor, a 1946 John Deere multi-fuel tractor, was useful during World War II when gasoline rationing was in effect. A farmer could start the tractor with gasoline, then turn a few switches and continue to run on a variety of other petroleum fluids such as kerosene.
Meanwhile, on the opposite end of the park, was a display of modern tractors actually being used by the village on a regular basis....
