When I was little, I always wanted to ride in the tractor with my dad. And even though my memory isn’t that great, I DO remember sitting in the hallway crying and throwing a tantrum because I had the chicken pox and mom wouldn’t let me go with him to feed the cattle .

The tractor he used didn’t have a passenger seat, so he cut a 2×4 that went from the arm rest to the window sill. That quickly became MY seat. In particularly rough fields, I really had to hang on because as dad’s seat flexed up and down, my 2×4 board bounced all over the place and nearly slid off. By the end of most rides, my rear was bruised but I was none worse for the wear.

This is a cast iron tractor seat saved from a seed drill from the Hoosier Drill Company. Hoosier Drill was acquired by the Oliver Farm Equipment Company in 1929, so this dates back pre-1929.

Can you imagine bumping around over a field in this seat with no padding? I’m no longer complaining about the 2×4.

Until our next history lesson …