Former Farmer, Now With Miniature Toys

ClassicRockr

ClassicRockr

Well-known Member
First, there would be some folks that would ask, "Just how old are you? I mean, you are 71 and have kid toys?" I would reply, "yep, and glad to have them!"

Yes, I remember my old farming days when I was in high school. Boy has farming equipment changed thru the years! Most-to-all crop production was done with a tractor pulling something and using PTO (Power Take Off to start). Today, all farm equipment is so much bigger with air-conditioned cabs and lots of electronics.

For Christmas, my wife has bought me, all miniature, of course, a Tomy John Deere Combine/Corn-Picker, a Tomy Stock Trailer and a really up-to-date Tomy John Deere Tractor. Already have some miniature farm/ranch animals, a barn/with grain silo and a blacksmith shop that we put into our Christmas Village display. But, this year, the display is only the farm stuff, on the counter between our kitchen and dining room.
 

Oh! That is so awesome! What a wonderful collection!
I used to collect old tin toys, cars, tractors, ducks, etc, from the 20's and 30's. Had to sell them because i needed money at that time.
Can you take a picture of them to post on here? We would love to see them!
 
You were talking about how farming had change with big machines. I love going to the Pennsylvania Farm Show. They have all these humongous machines on display. I haven't the faintest idea what they are used for, but they are massive with huge prongs and blades. They are so cool.
You also said, "But, this year, the display is only the farm stuff, on the counter between our kitchen and dining room.". Why do I get the feeling the farm is about to expand into the living room, and maybe lease some acreage in the bedroom?
 

Will probably end up getting the green John Deere Grain Cart and Manure Spreader. Would also like to get the new multi-row plough and disc.

A neighbor of mine, in northeastern Indiana, who graduated one year (1969) after I did, took over the family farm, got rid of all livestock, but continue with crop production. He bought an enormous Crop Chemical Sprayer. Wife and I seen it when we visited him in 2008. This thing was big, with a super nice enclosed cab.
 
fuzzybuddy said:
You were talking about how farming had change with big machines. I love going to the Pennsylvania Farm Show. They have all these humongous machines on display. I haven't the faintest idea what they are used for, but they are massive with huge prongs and blades. They are so cool.
You also said, "But, this year, the display is only the farm stuff, on the counter between our kitchen and dining room.". Why do I get the feeling the farm is about to expand into the living room, and maybe lease some acreage in the bedroom?
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Rather funny, but, the store we went to, a young sales girl we talked to, who was rearranging the miniature and larger farm/ranch toys on the shelves, knew very little-to-nothing about farm/ranch equipment or the livestock. Even the young lady at Customer Service, that rang us up, had no idea what we were buying. I had to tell her, which feels somewhat weird telling someone who works in this type of store what the store is selling.
 
Have one old tractor in my "farm scene" collection, but the other is an up-to-date one with an enclosed cab. Compared with the old Farmall, Allis Chalmers, John Deere and others back then, that didn't have an enclosed cab and sweating in the summer, I'd take the new tractors, corn pickers, etc. of today. The new crop production equipment can take care of many more rows of a crop than the old could.

I remember having to reach back behind me and pull a rope to lower the plough blades down. Those days are gone and I'm sure many, many farmers are glad of that.
 
hollydolly said:
I don't believe you were ever a Farmer tho' Cody..were you ?.. :unsure:
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Yes, Holly. My step-parents had a hog farm and had a crop/field of corn. We also had chickens, ducks and a couple of goats. Neighbors had beef cattle and hogs. I would help neighbors when it came to "hay bailing" time..........stacking bales of hay on the flat wagon behind the baler. Our tractor was more up-to-date than our neighbor's. His was one that, like the old Model "T" car, a person had to use a "crank" tool to start it. Crank it up in the front.

Ever heard of F.F.A. and/or 4-H?
 
ClassicRockr said:
Yes, Holly. My step-parents had a hog farm and had a crop/field of corn. We also had chickens, ducks and a couple of goats. Neighbors had beef cattle and hogs. I would help neighbors when it came to "hay bailing" time..........stacking bales of hay on the flat wagon behind the baler. Our tractor was more up-to-date than our neighbor's. His was one that, like the old Model "T" car, a person had to use a "crank" tool to start it. Crank it up in the front.

Ever heard of F.F.A. and/or 4-H?
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Yes..you forget I live in the country with farmers all round me Cody!! It was just that I remember you saying you went into the Navy as a youngster, only spent a short time on the farm as a child , and then did office work most of your life after that... :D
 
hollydolly said:
Yes..you forget I live in the country with farmers all round me Cody!! It was just that I remember you saying you went into the Navy as a youngster, only spent a short time on the farm as a child , and then did office work most of your life after that... :D
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Yes, I know where you live, but do you know the name of the farming equipment that they use? Just asking.

I spent 5 years working with my step-dad on the farm, along with helping neighbors. I enlisted in the Navy when I was 19. And, no I didn't do office work most of my life. I had jobs where I worked in a warehouse and drove a forklift for numerous years. I didn't start working in an office until 1991, and then it was only part-time. I've never been a full-time office worker. My first job, out of the Navy, was working at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California in the stagecoach ride area and the horse stables. Some years later, I worked at a large equestrian center, cleaning stalls, driving a tractor, with a manure spreader, in a field.

I still, to this day, know what the old farm equipment looks like/what it is, as well as the new equipment.
 
ClassicRockr said:
Yes, I know where you live, but do you know the name of the farming equipment that they use? Just asking.

I spent 5 years working with my step-dad on the farm, along with helping neighbors. I enlisted in the Navy when I was 19. And, no I didn't do office work most of my life. I had jobs where I worked in a warehouse and drove a forklift for numerous years. I didn't start working in an office until 1991, and then it was only part-time. I've never been a full-time office worker. My first job, out of the Navy, was working at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California in the stagecoach ride area and the horse stables. Some years later, I worked at a large equestrian center, cleaning stalls, driving a tractor, with a manure spreader, in a field.

I still, to this day, know what the old farm equipment looks like/what it is, as well as the new equipment.
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I'm not arguing with you Cody, I've known you a long time, we've heard all your stories of all the jobs you've had ..I'm just saying you were never a Farmer.. so your title is a little misleading s'all ... :p..enjoy playing with your new toys. Merry Christmas 🚜
 
hollydolly said:
I'm not arguing with you Cody, I've known you a long time, we've heard all your stories of all the jobs you've had ..I'm just saying you were never a Farmer.. so your title is a little misleading s'all ... :p..enjoy playing with your new toys. Merry Christmas 🚜
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I'm not arguing with you either, Holly, but my wife definitely would about me and my past farm life. Listen, I never owned a farm, but did help my step-dad on his for the 5 years I lived with him. To a point, that in itself is like, not totally, but "is like" being a farmer. You say that you live around numerous farmers, but how much do you know about farming? I had to help my step-dad feed/water hogs and the other livestock we had. When it came to putting rings in baby hogs, to stop them from rooting up the ground, I helped.

Anyway, do you often tell folks who they were or weren't??? I don't "play" with these toys, they are displayed.

Holly, I know what I am now and what I've done in the past. I was in professional rodeo for a number of years, have owned two Quarter Horses and been a member of AQHA. Heck, I even, for a short time, worked at a stockyards in Oklahoma on sale day. I know different breeds of cattle, from beef to dairy. I know about preparing a field for planting a crop, cultivating that crop and picking that crop. IOW, crop production.
 
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Vintage machinery collection is very popular the world over whether they are miniatures or other.
I have been collecting miniature vintage cars for sometime, they are in my cabinet on show.
 
One of my brother in laws used to have a Sanderson tractor from about 1910, and it had a large beautifully restored wooden box on the very front, where all the tools required to keep it running were housed.

His father and grandfather had old steam traction engines, both the ones intended for fair ground use, (the "showman's engines"), and those used on the roads and on farms, so they were used to maintaining ancient equipment.

If I can I'll see if I can post a picture of the tractor I've tried to describe.
 
Apologies this is only a miniature Sanderson tractor from 1910, but it does look exactly like the one my brother in law had restored, (and of course it fits with the thread topic too!):

Sanderson minature.1.jpg
 

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