A Faithful Friend

February 12, 2021

I watched the Super Bowl a few days ago. Actually, I should say that I tried to watch the Super Bowl. You see, I am not much of a football fan. This year, I thought I would tune in to see some of those famous Super Bowl ads that everyone seems to talk about after the game. I was disappointed when I realized that here in Canada, the snazzy new American ads are replaced with their bland Canadian counterparts. After the third time seeing the same ad for “Skip the Dishes”, I changed the channel. It got me thinking though…

My dad must have presented a challenge to the Mad Men of Madison Avenue. Those advertising moguls would have been puzzled by his absolute lack of any semblance of brand loyalty. Although he leaned towards Chevrolet when it came to cars, his preference in trucks included both Ford and Chev products. His taste in farm equipment was eclectic as over the years, tractors and combines of various brands found their way to the farm. My recollection includes John Deere, Case, Allis Chalmers and later on Deutz. If you could say anything about my father’s brand selection, it was that he was unquestionably pragmatic. Whatever reliably got the job done at the most reasonable price; that was his preference.

And further to his reluctance to align himself with any brand, he staunchly refused to endorse them either. Like most farmers, he wouldn’t be caught dead without some type of cap whenever he was outdoors. He happily accepted the caps that were offered for free by various agricultural suppliers. However, those same companies would have been dismayed to see that the first thing he did was to remove their advertising logo from the crest of the cap.

There was, however, one brand that had a special place in dad’s heart. Massey Harris was a Canadian manufacturer of farm equipment that had its roots in the 19th century. For a period of time, the company would become a significant supplier of agricultural equipment in Canada. As a company, it was swallowed up by bigger corporate fish sometime in the 1950’s. However, the name of one of the founders “Massey” is still well known in Canada, with Massey Hall and the Massey Lectures having become Canadian institutions. 

Sometime in the early 50’s, James purchased a Massey Harris model 44 tractor that had been brought west from Ontario as a factory demonstrator. Dad went with some other farmers to check out this new technology. I would say it was a case of love at first sight, as he arranged for the purchase of that same machine when the company had finished its demonstration run. By today’s standards, it wasn’t much. It offered none of the creature comforts that are standard today. Things like power steering or a heated cab were far off in the future. Although it was modest in power output, it seemed to fit James' requirements. 

Fitted with a Farmhand loader, dad and the 44 went to work, toiling side by side for over 50 years. Dad would go on to buy bigger, more powerful tractors as the years passed but he always kept the 44, with never a thought of trading it off or replacing it. Occasionally, someone would ask when he was going to get rid of that old relic. His answer was always the same: “When I’m done farming, I will be done with the 44”. Little did anyone, including James understand just how prescient those words would be.

As time went on, James slowed his farming activities but never actually retired. He always kept a few head of cattle and kept busy tinkering around the farm yard even after selling the majority of the operation to his grandson, Jim. Notable by its absence from the bill of sale was that old Massey tractor. Like its owner, it wasn’t getting out much. Both owner and tractor were getting a little creaky in the joints but could still find useful things to do.

It was late in the fall of 2001 when both of their farming days would suddenly come to an end. The morning of dad’s stroke, he had been out in the shop, trying to fix a broken exhaust pipe on the old Massey. Not feeling well, he had quit to go in to rest. As the day went on, things went from bad to worse and he was hospitalized after suffering a major stroke. His prophetic words came true: his last act on the farm was tending to the needs of his old friend, the ‘44. 

I’m pretty sure that my dad never had any interest in watching a Super Bowl, or even those famous TV commercials. Somehow, however, if there was a Super Bowl ad for a Massey Harris 44, he would have been an enthusiastic viewer!