That tractor was an old steam engine tractor, and although I saw it many times after that day it was my first time and only time seeing a steam-powered tractor running. It really didn’t look much like a tractor but more like a huge black barrel with wheels on it. It had big steel wheels, with cross bars on the back end and smaller smooth steel wheels on the front and there was a platform on the back to stand on while operating it, and a big round steering wheel and several knobs and levers that were used to operate it.
I remember watching them as they checked the thing over, moving levers, twisting and turning knobs, which I later learned were steam and water valves. Finally satisfied that nothing had frozen and burst, the neighbor said, “Let’s give it a try.” He had Dad start hand-pumping water into the boiler while he cleaned out the firebox and started a fire in it. Once there was enough water in the boiler and the fire going good, Dad took me back to the car. Everybody was getting restless and wanting to know how long it would be and Dad said they would have to wait for the tractor to build up steam before it would run.
I know it was very hard on Mom that day, sitting there so long in the car with two cranky babies. Yet today I can imagine her sitting there with a slight smile and daydreaming about the tomorrow and better days to come.
After a while, Dad walked back to the tractor and I could see him and the neighbor talking and poking wood into the firebox and looking at a big round gauge. I guess Mom saw my interest and told me I could go back to where the men were.
After filling the firebox again with wood and taking a long look at the big gauge the neighbor said, “Let’s see what we’ve got”. He stepped up on the platform and turned a valve or two which caused a loud hissing noise. Then moved a lever and the thing puffed out a big cloud of steam and started moving. It sounded much like the steam trains that the coal and lumber companies used. It creaked, screeched, and rattled as it moved. Once hooked to the front of the truck with a long chain it huffed and puffed but pulled it out of the mud with ease and kept on pulling it on out the road to where we were moving.