In order to tell you guys how I got hooked on old tractors I have to go back to my grandfather. He was a farm boy here in New york, born in 1919. He grew up around an IHC 8-16 kerosene and a Case 15-27. His grandpa had the 8-16 which his uncle traded in 1927 or 8 for a farmall regular. My grandpa ran the regular until 1939 when he went into the army. When WWII broke out my grandpa transferred to the air force where he was put on a B-17 and stationed in Algers North Africa. He was a certified technition and top turret gunner, got distinguished flying cross and other medals for his quick thinking and actions there. Got to shoot down ME109s, he said he always felt bad for shooting them because they were such a beautiful plane! He was also impressed with the technological advances he was seeing during the war. When he got back in 45, he got back into farming, bought a used Allis WC, Farmall reg, and an Oliver 70 standard (which got scraped when it dropped a valve). He was looking to buy a new tractor, and saw John Deere had made no changes since he left nor did Farmall really. He had his eyes set on the Massey Harris tractors and the Olivers. He bought a Massey 20 which he traded up for a new 66 oliver in 1951. In 1953 he ordered a new 88 diesel, the first sold in our county, all his friends and nieghbors thought he was crazy to be buying a diesel. He said he knew it was only a matter of time and they would be the leading fuel in equiptment- (the Germans he saw had such nice engines).He did however, refuse to buy hydrolics because he could buy a bunch of implements for the same price. He got with the 88, a 3-16in mechanical plow, disc, and harrow as well as a sickle bar mower. Then my father came into the picture, and when he was 11 or 12 started going to the pageant of steam in canandaigua about 1966 with some buddies from school. His one freind had a oliver 80 (he paid $10 for)standard and a mccormick 10-20, another friend a wallis 12-20 and a farmall regular, and his other friend a 1930 Oliver Hart Parr 18-27(which accidentally got scraped in the late 70&#039;s). So in the winter of 67-68 my father bought a 1930 John Deere GP for $50. It needed paint and the points cleaned on the mag. We still have it, been running great all this time, strange for a 2 cylinder. My grandpa towed him home in the snow with the 88. In 1973 my dad graduated and my grandpa bought his last new Oliver, a 1755 diesel. My uncle bought a new White 2-155 and that was the last new tractor our family has bought. My dad started collecting tractors in 1984-85. I was born in 82 so I was pretty young when the Oliver hart Parr 70 and 18-28 arrived and a 1800 series B. My dad kept the 88 too, the 66 unfortunatly got traded in on a White lawn mower. (I had a $100 reward out for it&#039;s whereabouts but no takers.)So as far back as I remember there where a few olivers and the GP JD around. I stay with the older steel wheel tractors because they where the most fun to climb on when I was little and they look neat. I like hand cranks and steel wheels, no dead batteries- no flat tires;) We now own 30 tractors or better on the same farm the 88 has been on since 1956 and now the John Deere GP has lived half of its years with my dad on this farm.