When I was a little girl, my Grandpa, Estil Cartwright, always had me on his tractor to ride around the farm just to look at the family property. During our rides he would teach me lessons of life, family, fishing, and tractors. Anyone who knew my Grandpa would know that at least one, if not all, of these four subjects would be discussed during their visit to the farm.
Last spring my Grandpa became very ill and during one of my visits he had a talk with me about tractors, especially one tractor on his property, a 1958 Farmall 350. It was his dream to see the tractor used and running like new again. He told me stories about how he purchased the tractor and how much he wanted someone to refinish it someday. You could tell that in his mind, it was beautiful just like it was, but when I looked at it I saw a rusted pile of metal that would take years to make it look like new.
In November 2010 my Grandpa passed away. The story of that tractor kept running through my mind. I knew that he wanted to see it used and for it to be good as new. In February 2011 I received a phone call from my grandmother and she wanted to sell the tractor because she had no use for it. I knew that my Grandpa told me what he did for a reason, I didn’t know why at the time, but I purchased the tractor to have it restored.
I didn’t know much about tractors when I purchased it, but I certainly learned fast when I started looking for parts for it. My husband has restored tractors before and I could tell when he looked at the tractor that he saw the same thing that my Grandpa did…a dream tractor.
My husband, Darryl, worked day and night from February 2011 to April 2011 to refinish it. One day, to my surprise Darryl finished it while I was at work. When I come home and opened the garage door, there it was, the dream that my Grandpa saw for years, a beautiful new tractor. I was amazed that I could see my reflection in the paint, that all of the shiny new emblems were all in place, and every little detail was complete.
I know that my Grandpa wanted the tractor to be used so this winter it will be in a parade in our home town and it will be pulling a wagon that was also restored by my father with all of his grandchildren riding in it in his memory.
I know my Grandpa would be proud of his dream tractor and I am thankful to my husband who worked so hard to finish it in such a short time. To my Grandpa…here is your dream tractor!
Melissa Thompson
Lewisport, Kentucky
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