Hello, My name is Alexandra Smith. I am a 17 year old girl and I live in Alexander, New York.
Ever since I was a little girl, I have always had a crazy obsession with John Deere tractors. I got my love of these classic farm machines from my Grandpa, who had a massive collection of John Deere two-cylinder tractors, both restored and unrestored. My grandpa died when I was young; however, his love of John Deeres still remains in the family and I.
My Uncles still maintain my Grandpa’s tractor collection, along with collections of their own! Additionally, along with my Grandpa and Uncles, I have a tractor collection of my own. I started my collection when I was 14 when I saw a John Deere 112 from a local scrapyard. The little tractor was in good condition, I wanted to buy it; however, my dad said not to. I already had a John Deere 140 hydro that my Uncle Johnny had given me and my mom knew how much I loved that 140. Therefore, she instructed my Dad to take me back to the scrapyard the next day so that I could buy the tractor.
I had been working in my family’s excavating business and had been making money that summer. The very next day, I bought that little 112 for $75 of my hard earned money and brought it home in my Dad’s pickup. We didn’t know if the tractor ran, however, all we did was pour gas in the tank and it fired right up! I bought my 112 at the end of June.
By the time the school year started, I had accumulated 4 John Deere garden tractors! The next summer I had a blast taking my tractors to shows and I had a chance to drive my Uncle Johnny’s John Deere 8020. I had ridden in the 8020 several times before; however, this was the first time I had ever driven it by myself!
The summer of 2019 came and I had an opportunity to accomplish one of my life long dreams, to tractor pull. I adopted a John Deere 630 from my Grandpa’s collection and pulled with it at an annual tractor pull my family attends in June. I got first place! I got to pull my 630 again at the Western New York Gas and Steam Association’s annual rally later that year. Additionally, during the steam show, my cousin let me drive his 1919 John Deere Waterloo Boy. That was a once in a lifetime experience! I loved pulling my 630; however, the tractor was heavy, which prevented me from entering the lighter weight classes.
Therefore, when 2020 came, I welcomed two new members to my collection, a sweet John Deere 60 and Herbie, who is a John Deere 620. The 60 is an amazing running tractor, great for cruising around shows. However, Herbie on the other hand, is a little bit temperamental. When I got Herbie, he hadn’t been running in 11 years. My dad and I tried starting him, but he would hardly crank over. Come to find out, the starter motor was bad, so we sent it out to get worked on. When we got the starter motor back and put it back in Herbie, he still wouldn’t stay running very long. I cleaned the carburetor, washed out the fuel line and fuel bowl and rinsed out the fuel tank. Finally, after working on Herbie for a while, he was running.
You may be wondering why he is named Herbie, well that’s because he has an issue with his steering. When you start him up, he automatically turns to the left by himself! I had remembered a movie called “Herbie the Love Bug” which was about a self driving car. Therefore I named the 620 Herbie!
Herbie has a totally rebuilt engine, since I wanted a tractor that was lighter for pulling, I figured that Herbie would be perfect! In the spring, I want to get new Tires and rims for Herbie. The tires and rims that are on him now are old and worn and I want something that has more bite for when I pull. Additionally, his tires are loaded with calcium too. I also want to put a narrow front end on Herbie and add a weight bracket. I want to be able to get into the 5500 lb class! Everybody in my family loves Herbie because he has such a big personality, just like his owner!
In the Fall, when we would have a nice evening, my Mom and I would Jump on the tractors and take them for a drive! Now that Winter is here, Herbie and his family are safely tucked away in a storage barn at my Grandma’s. Until the Spring, I will just prepare to make Herbie into a pulling tractor!
Out of my collection, there are three that are my favorites. My 112, because it was my first tractor and I bought it by myself. My 112 holds a special place in my heart. My 630 because it is such a nice, tall tractor and can be used for pulling or just driving around. Additionally, the 630 was my first two cylinder and is my favorite John Deere. And Then Herbie, I love Herbie because I learned invaluable mechanical skills from working with him! Also he has a lot of personality! I now have 10 tractors and am sure that my Tractor Family will continue to grow!
Alexandra Smith of Alexander, New York