That Cold Blooded TD 9
Allis Chalmers HD5 Crawler Tractor
International TD9 Crawler
My dad was a drylamd farmer in the highlands of Southeast Idaho(dryland farming depends strictly on the moisture Mother Nature provides—no additional irrigation). He had two International crawler tractors in his farming operation, a TD 9 and a TD 14. The TD 9 gets the honor of being the subject of this blog post; that miserable cantankerous, difficult to start, prima donna TD 9. People familiar with diesel powered tractors in the days prior to 1960 will remember these tractors were not direct start as they are today. … Continue reading
An Afternoon In The Old Tin Lizzie
The Tin Lizzy
As I perused another past issue of Reminisce Magazine, I came across a few stories about the Model T Ford—affectionately referred to in its heyday—as the “Tin Lizzie.” This brought back memories of an afternoon experience of mine with one of those “legendary” autos.
When I was a small boy living in the small village of Grace, Idaho during the 1940s, there was a teen-age boy who had access to a Model T. This car fascinated us younger boys, because even compared to 1940s vintage cars, this T seemed like a relic, and we had been… Continue reading
Linda Sandifer Interview
Linda Sandifer
Greetings friends. I have a treat for you today. This post consists of an interview with a writer colleague, Linda Sandifer. Linda is the author of thirteen novels. Her books, set in the American West, have found fans among both women and men and have been translated into numerous languages. Linda and her husband own and operate the ranch her grandfather homesteaded 100 years ago. She’s a member of Western Writers of America, Women Writing the West, and the Blue Sage Writers of Idaho.
Will: I’ve known you… Continue reading
Rube Talks About Sarah Palin(Guest Post)
Howdy folks. It’s me agin, Rube. I was gonna wait ’til next week to make another post, but somethin’ come up this past week that I just couldn’t wait to talk ’bout, so I asked Will if I could post agin this week. He said I could, so that’s what I done.
Did you see on the news the other day where that Sarah Palin lady is gonna be back on Fox News agin? I think that’s great news. She’s such a purty lady. I mean puuur-ty, an’ smart too. … Continue reading
Left At The Hitching Post
I and that F-20 Farmall tractor pictured here 
have something in common. We both came into the world at the same time, mid-1930s, way before this computer driven world came on the scene.
One of my favorite forms of entertainment as a kid during the 1940s was the Saturday matinee at the local movie theater(We could get in for a nickel).Those matinees usually consisted of B Western movies–Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, Hopalong Cassidy, etc. In order to add a bit of comedic drama, those films usually had a scene where either a bunch of… Continue reading
The Tomato Bandit
When I lived in Idaho I relished the challenge of actually being able to raise tomatoes to full maturity. In the Southeast Idaho highlands at an altitude of nearly six thousand feet, this was a tenuous task, but not impossible.
It required water walls around the plants and a cover for a good part of the summer to protect the tender growing vines from the ravages of those frequent summer frosts that visited our mountain valley(tomato plants are regular tenderfoots) and when the thermometer threatens anything close to 32 degrees, they begin to whimper and wilt. I… Continue reading
Rube’s Ramblins’ (A guest Post)
Greetings Friends. I have a guest contributor to the blog today. You’ve met Rube in an earlier post. He will be doing guest posts on this blog from time to time. Rube is quite interesting as you may have noted when he told you about Gertrude, his 1941 Black Ford pickup truck. If you’re just tuning in and missed that blog, back up a couple of posts and read about him and Gertrude. So, without further ado, I’ll turn the remainder of this post over to Rube.… Continue reading
The Many Hats Writers Wear
A farm owner wears many hats. One day he might be a heavy equipment operator, another day a truck driver or a mechanic. Yet on another day you will find him on the telephone wearing his CEO hat negotiating a commodity sale, or the purchase of a piece of equipment. Still another day he might be found in the office doing the books and paying the bills. I know all this because that’s how I made my living.
When I became a writer I soon learned that writers, too, are called upon to stretch themselves and don many… Continue reading
Rube and Gertrude (A guest post by Rube)
Rube’s 1941 Black Ford Pickup Truck (Gertrude)
Howdy folks. I’d like to introduce m’self. My name’s Rube, an’ I’m a friend of Will’s. We been friends ever since we was in school together back in grade school. He says if’n ever I wanted to say somethin’ on this blog, he’d be happy ta have me as a guest. So you’ll probly be seein’ some of my ramblin’s from time to time. Like right now fer instant. I got a little story I want to tell ya. I didn’t go… Continue reading
Where’s my old typewriter?
I was born 50 years too early to grasp all this high tech computer stuff. Yes, folks, I’ve been in another battle with my computer, and it won again—well, at least partially. The battle ensued over my interpretation of the meaning of the word “text.” Webster describes text as a body of written words. That’s how I have always interpreted its meaning; but apparently not the computer geeks who write software programs.
It all began when I decided to do a revision, and re-write my first published novel, “A Halcyon Revolution.” This would have been a piece of cake were… Continue reading
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