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Spring Plowing in Pike County

Spring plowing of farm ground is still important to farmers, but with new methods of tilling and much of the work being done in the fall it may be a little less critical today than 40 years ago.

Plowing ground in Pike County can be challenging at any time of the year, but in the spring trying to find a dry plot of ground can be a problem. The field might be dry on top, but wet in the low places.

On one of these spring days in the early 1960’s my brother Alan, my cousin Frank and I were looking for a dry field to plow. We had the tractors and plows at Coates’ Springs and were determine to plow rather than give up and take the equipment back home in Gibson County. We had tried to plow on the Coates’ Springs property where Frank and Adel Kolb live today, but everything was too wet. After some discussion we decided to move to the Borders Place and try that ground. We tried the northeast field; same problem top was dry enough the valleys were too wet. We tried the south field, same problem.

We were frustrated, after some discussion we decided to try the northwest field on the Borders Place, big mistake. Being young and impatient with Mother Nature we set off with three tractors and plows. To reach the northwest field we had to use an abandon County Road that had little or no gravel base under it. This road has a deep valley to cross, but otherwise is fairly flat. I started out first on this expedition since it was my idea.

When I started down the hill toward the valley I knew we had made a mistake, the old road was very slick with mud. Once I started down hill there was no stopping and the tractor slid to the bottom, there was no maneuvering I was stuck. We all had a chain on our tractors, so we hooked the chains together and Alan backed Dad’s DC Case to where he could hook on to the chains. When Alan tried to pull me out the DC lost traction and began to slide down the hill. It was a soft landing as he gently stacked the tractor and plow against mine at the bottom of the hill.

We discussed what to do next; we didn’t want to go get Dad and Uncle Chester that would be too embarrassing. We decided that by using three chains we could keep Frank and his WD45 Allis Chalmers tractor pretty much on top of the hill and pull Alan and the Case tractor out. It seemed like a good plan, but once Frank started to lose traction on the muddy roadbed he and the WD45 were down the hill and his mounted plow fit nicely into Alan’s pull type plow.

We now had every piece of equipment neatly stored at the bottom of the hill and no way out. I will have to give Frank and Alan credit they didn’t place the blame on me even though they could have. We stood at the top of the hill contemplating our next move; we had none but to go tell Dad and Uncle Chester.

Suddenly we heard a tractor approaching, I’m sure the Lord had a hand in sending Frank and Bob Brittingham down that road. When they approached we flagged them down and tried to tell them of our dilemma. When Frank and Bob saw three tractors and plows stacked at the bottom of the hill Bob said, ”How in the world did you boys do this”. Frank said “Now Dad that doesn’t matter we have to get them out of there”.

With additional chains Frank Brittingham was able to pull Frank Kolb out. Frank and Frank hooked their tractors together and pulled Alan and the Case tractor out of the valley. That just left my Allis Chalmers and me at the bottom, with three tractors and about five chains I was extracted from the mud. We tried to pay the Brittinghams for there help in our time need, but if you knew them you would know they would say “That is what neighbors do, help one another in time of need”.

Once we thanked them a dozen times we decided to take the tractors somewhere to wash them up. Suddenly finding a place to plow was not important.

Dad and Uncle Chester never mentioned our incident, so I guess Frank and Bob Brittingham decided it would be best not to tell about our youth and inexperience. Occasionally Frank, Alan and I discussed where things started to go wrong that day, we always got a laugh out of it.