FROM VELMA FESLER

I was reading your experiences as a kid working on different farms.  It brought back memories of helping dad and Grandpa Henry haul hay.  I guess since dad didn't have a son, and needed an extra hand, I got talked into helping with some of those un-lady like chores.  I recall one time when I was about 14 or 15, he asked me to help with  plowing in a bottom field down by the river.  There was a real high bank that dropped straight down into Caney.  He plowed about 3 or 4 rounds to get everything laid out and get me away from the high bank somewhat.  He never had good equipment, everything had it's own little quirks to make it operate.  At this time he had an old John Deere tractor that we called the "Johnny Pop" because it made so much noise.  It only had hand brakes which were very difficult to pull, HE would have to take his hands off the steering wheel and use both hands to pull the brake on.  (Got the picture?)   After explaining a few basics;  the throttle, how to pull the plow out on the corners , how to keep the rows straight,etc., he took off for the barn lot to do other things, and said, "If you need to stop and you can't pull the brake, just pull the plow out of the ground, slow the throttle down and drive to the barn lot and I'll be there and will jump on the tractor with you and pull the brake on.  I'll be listening from the barn lot and I can tell by the sound of the tractor if you're having trouble."   Sure!  What does a tractor sound like going over a high bank into the river?    I plowed a long time and could see that the gas gauge was getting a little low, so I headed to the barn on the tractor.  He  heard me coming, and could tell that I hadn't turned the throttle down enough.  It sounded okay to me, I was going slower than when I had been plowing, but I guess he thought it sounded like it was going a little fast for him to run and manuever between the tractor and plow  As I came into the barn lot, I was looking to see if he was there, if not I would have to keep going through the barn lot onto the road and maybe up to the pasture, or just follow the road till the monster ran out of gas.  He had gone a distance into another field by the barn lot.   He came running through that field, waving both hands and yelling at the top of his voice.  I couldn't hear a word for the loud tractor and I was yelling that I couldn't stop the darn thing, but he couldn't hear me.  By the time he got to the barn lot, I was already headed up the road toward the pasture. He was able to jump on, but he had trouble pulling the hand brake also.  He finally got it stopped.  He gave me a tongue lashing and I hopped off that beast, headed to the house  and told him I wasn't going to help anymore unless he fixed that brake.