By Carol Schreiber
Murray County News Staff Writer
“It’s a 1935 McCormick Deering WD 40,” explained Tom Volk. A third generation antique tractor has recently been restored and will be at the Fourth of July parade and antique tractor show in Okabena next week. The tractor was originally purchased new by his grandfather, Fred Volk, who had lived outside of Okabena.
“My grandfather always said it was the first diesel tractor in Jackson County,” Tom explained. Fred had purchased 1936 tractor from J.C. Ruthenbeck in Okabena. Tom even has the original operator’s manual and parts books for the tractor.
According to an article in the Heron Lake News in October 23, 1974. “Fred remarked that his wife used to drive the tractor as she helped with the fall farm work.” Fred and his wife had 13 children. He was born in Cherokee, Iowa, in 1887, and farmed 357 acres near Okabena in Section 8 of West Heron Lake Township, Jackson County. Tom’s father, Herman, purchased the tractor in 1974, and Tom bought it from his dad in the mid 1980s.
The 1974 article went on to indicate that “It was surprising to note how well preserved the machine was and how efficiently it turned the furrow,” the article continued. “The tractor is a family conversation piece now, considering all of the many newer models, but it has not lost its usefulness to any degree. Young Tom certainly was having the time of his life in operating his grandfather’s antique model, and certainly the heirloom will continue to remain in the family for years to come.”
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