Grandpa's John Deere A is back in the family

Ronald Bengston was only 17 years old when his grandpa, Glen Harvill, got sick and sold his farm in Oklahoma in 1988. Not only did the sale include the land and farm buildings, but also all the tractors and equipment, along with the two John Deere Model A tractors that Bengston had spent hundreds of hours on, either riding along with his grandpa or operating on his own.

Bengston says Harvill was respected for more than his farming skills. He was also the pastor for two churches, a trained blacksmith, and a talented John Deere mechanic. When Bengston started collecting and restoring vintage John Deere tractors, the one she most desired were the 1948 and 1951 A models — preferably the very tractors Grandpa owned.

“My first vintage tractor was a John Deere Model 50 that I acquired in 2012,” says Bengston, who lives near Mannford, Oklahoma. “My dad was helping a farmer south of Ponca City, Oklahoma, who had it in the back of the barn. Dad had always planned on seeing if he could get it running. Unfortunately, Dad passed away, and when I inquired about it later on, the owner told me it wasn’t for sale.”

Got Model 50 on a permanent loan

Instead, the farmer offered Bengston a deal. He would give the tractor to Bengston on a permanent loan with the stipulation that he would never sell it. If Bengston got tired of the tractor, he was to return it and the farmer would reimburse him for any parts. Hence, Bengston technically doesn’t own the 50, even though he’s since restored it and taken it to shows. That was enough to infect him with the collecting bug.

Bengston says it wasn’t long before his wife, Angie, wanted a tractor of her own, especially since they had been going together to the annual Oklahoma Steam and Gas Engine Show in Pawnee, Oklahoma, for several years. Bengston says he first bought a John Deere MT, but admits it really wasn’t what he wanted. He was really looking fora John Deere H, which at that time in northeastern Oklahoma were about as scarce as hen’s teeth, he says. Fortunately, he was able to find one near Oklahoma City.

“That was my wife’s birthday/anniversary present that year,” he says.

Pink Deere 110 garden tractor

“The next tractor I got after that was a John Deere 110 garden tractor,” he says. “He told the seller he was going to paint the hood and fenders pink as a tribute to friends and relatives who have had breast cancer.“

He told me, “‘Son, John Deere tractors are green, not pink.’ Later, when he saw the tractor at our tractor show, he said, ‘Well, it ain’t right, but it looks good.’”

“When I went to look at the 110, though, I noticed that he also had a 1951 John Deere A, similar to the one Grandpa had,” he continues. “I asked him if he’d sell it and he said, ‘Not while I’m breathing.’ About five years later, he came up to me at our tractor club Christmas party and admitted, ‘I’m 86 years old and I’ve figured out that I can’t do it anymore. Have you bought an A yet?’

“I said, ‘No sir, I just haven’t found what I’m looking for.’”

‘You weren’t going home without that tractor’

Bengston says the two eventually got together on price and he took it home, even though the owner later told him, “I didn’t care where we ended upon price ... you weren’t going home without that tractor.”

“Still, there was only one tractor that I really wanted and that was Grandpa’s 1948 A,” says Bengston. For a few years, he knew right where it was: With the person who bought his grandpa’s farm.

“The first few times I approached him about buying the tractor, he shot me a ridiculous price, knowing how much I wanted it and thinking that it had so much sentimental value that I would be willing to pay it,” he relates. “I just couldn’t bring myself to pay that much more than it was worth. I told him if he ever wanted to sell it at the right price to let me know.”

Bengston says a few years went by and he approached the guy again, only to find out he didn’t have it anymore.

‘You sold it for scrap!’

“I said, ‘You sold it for scrap, didn’t you?’” he continues. “Well, he gave me this sheepish look and I figured that was the end of it and it was gone.

“Then, in July of 2022, I was on the internet going through Facebook Marketplace and saw an ad for old John Deere tractors for sale,” he recalls. “When I got to the last picture, I thought, ‘That looks like Grandpa’s 1948A,’ but surely it couldn’t be. I tried to blow the photo up larger and decided that there was a better-than-average chance that it was his tractor, but I still didn’t want to get my hopes up.”

Bengston didn’t waste any time making the trip to see the seller, who lived only about 20 miles away.

“I knew as soon as I saw it that was Grandpa’s A,” he says. “The guy said, ‘How do you know? You haven’t even looked at the serial number.’

“I said, ‘I don’t have to.’ It was a propane model like his. It had the step on the axle that he added, the rear wheels had 4 inches added to the width for wider tires in the sandy soil. It had the exhaust stack that he made, and it still had some of the pea green paint Grandpa had used.”

‘Come back with a trailer and $100’

“I said, ‘What do you want for it?’ thinking, ‘Here we go again with the sentimental value,’” he continues. “He replied, ‘The tractor actually belongs to my mom,’ and went on to explain that his dad had bought it from a salvage yard and had since passed away. He then added, ‘Comeback with a trailer and $100 and it’s yours.’

“The tractor was in sad shape and still is,” he adds, noting it was missing the hood and grill, as well as one front tire.“But I have every intension of getting it running and back to original condition.”

In the meantime, Bengston says his interests have expanded to include some of the old implements. He’s already added a John Deere Model 55 plow, an 8-foot John Deere disc, and a McCormick-Deering Model 60 plow. He also built a flatbed wagon for the 110 garden tractor, using the front axle from a Cub Cadet.

“I’m not sure what additional tractors I would add, if any,” he admits. “I’ve finally got all the ones that have the most meaning to me, and my wife and I really get the most enjoyment out of taking them to the Oklahoma Steam Threshers show, which is held on the first full weekend of May in Pawnee, and sharing them with others. Having more tractors would just mean leaving part of them at home.”