Tractor Stories – 1954 Farmall Super H Twins

Here is a picture, taken December 23, 2006, of my 87 year old dad, Ruben Semmler, and me on my twin 1954 Super H Farmalls.  These tractors are very special to us because they were both purchased new by two of our neighbors whose land adjoined ours.

     I was raised on a farm near Tripp, South Dakota, and like many farm kids of the era, I learned to drive on an H Farmall.  I entered the Air Force when I graduated from high school in 1976, and returned to South Dakota when I retired from the Air Force in 2003.  I have since purchased a few old Farmall tractors to use on my acreage, but these two mean the most to me because I knew the men who bought them new.

     The tractor on the right, that I am sitting on, was purchased new in the fall of 1954 by Paul Liebert, a neighbor who farmed just east of dad’s place.  The serial number is 26779.  Major casting code dates range from 11-25-Y to 5-14-Z.  A “Y” indicates 1953 and a “Z” indicates 1954.  The engine serial number is 30358 with a casting code date of 5-14-Z.  It was sold at auction to another neighbor in July 1997, just days after Paul passed on.  I bought the tractor from that neighbor in August 2003.  The second picture shows me looking on in disbelief and disgust as I watched as water just kept pouring out of the oil-check petcocks the day I examined the tractor before I purchased it.  It had a flat rear tire, bad rims, a stuck engine with cracked head, and the entire engine was full of water.  I overhauled the engine and made other needed repairs.  That made it a very strong running tractor that I use regularly.

     The one on the left, that dad is on, was purchased new in the fall of 1954 by Gilbert Meyer, a neighbor who farmed south and west of dad’s place.  Dad was one of the first to drive it as he hauled silage with it on Gilbert’s farm that year.  Gilbert used it for 52 years.  The serial number is 26559.  Major casting code dates range from 1-25-Z to 5-13-Z.  The engine serial number is 30024 with a casting code date of 5-13-Z.  I purchased this tractor in running condition at Gilbert’s retirement auction sale on October 28, 2006.  Dad was also the last to drive this tractor on Gilbert’s farm as he drove it up to the trailer after the sale.

      I am very happy that I was able to keep these tractors together.  After all, they were together since birth.  They were made just days apart as reflected by the difference in their serial numbers–220.  The engine blocks were made just one day apart, 13 and 14 May, 1954.  They were both purchased from Isaak Implement, the IHC dealer in Tripp, SD, and most likely arrived in Tripp on the same train.  They worked side-by-side hauling silage and threshing grain for years.  It just seems right that they should remain together.  Now, they rest side-by-side in my shed and are driven and used whenever I get a chance.  My wife and I refer to them as “Paul” and “Gilbert”, both as an easy way to tell them apart and out of respect for the farmers who spent so many years in their seats.

     The last picture, taken April 11, 2011, is of Paul immediately after he received a fresh coat of paint.  He sure looks pretty!  But don’t let the good-looks fool you.  Paul will be working just as hard this year as he has since I bought him.  Only now, he will turn a few more heads.  I think Gilbert may get jealous, but he’ll have to wait another year for his paint job.

     There is a missing chapter to this story though; my dad purchased a 1954 Super M (not MTA) in very early 1954 from the same IHC dealer.  It was sold at auction in December, 1979 when dad quit farming.  I have not yet located that tractor, but I continue to search because it too belongs here, parked between the two Super H’s it worked with all those years.

Leo Semmler
Watertown, South Dakota