’s
Today’s Farm SPRING 2022
Rushmore family restores 1942 McCormick B Farmall Tractor had been purchased new by great-grandfather
BY JULIE BUNTJER The Globe
RUSHMORE — A 1942 McCormick B Farmall shines bright red under a setting sun these days, thanks to the efforts of a Rushmore family who was determined to not only keep the first new tractor their great-grandfather ever purchased, but restore it to its original beauty. Brothers Keith and Travis Ailts, along with their dad, Gary, worked the better part of six months to bring the tractor back to life. John and Mary Clercx, farmers who owned a quarter section in northwest Iowa’s Lyon County, just east of Lester, originally purchased the tractor in 1942. “I think it was the first
tractor that Grandpa bought new,” shared Melody Ailts. It was used for tillage and planting, picking corn, pulling wagons to the elevator and hauling manure — a pure workhorse in its heyday, and a tractor dwarfed in size by those farmers drive today. Gary had first seen the B on the Clercx farm when he and Melody were dating. “I thought it was unusual because it only had one wheel in the front.” Gary said. “When John died, I asked Mary if I could buy it and she said no, Duane (Melody’s uncle) was going to get it.” Melody’s mom, Peggy Reemts, and Duane were John and Mary’s only children, and they wanted the tractor to remain in the family.
While Duane became the tractor’s owner, the implement was kept in storage in an old shed on the farm. It hadn’t been touched in years, and certainly didn’t run. Then, in 2017, when the Ailts attended a family picnic with Melody’s relatives, Duane seemed disappointed that Keith — the youngest of Gary and Melody’s two sons — hadn’t come along. He told Gary that he was hoping to talk to the boy. Keith called Duane that night and learned of the plans to burn the old house down. “This tractor sat in a little shed within 20 feet of the house and they wanted to burn that down too,” said Gary. “Since Keith was a mechanic, Duane
said if (Keith) could get it running, he could have it. He wanted it to stay in the family.”
Challenge accepted “I thought it was pretty cool,” Keith said of the offer. “We’d always look at it when we were there, but it never ran. “I didn’t want to see it go anywhere else besides stay in the family,” he added. On the other hand, Keith had never thought about restoring a tractor either. “It was a good project for these three,” said Melody, who was on the clean-up crew after weekends of dismantling, cleaning and putting things back together.
RUSHMORE: Page 3
Special to The Globe
Duane Clercx (from left), Gary, Keith and Travis Ailts stand for a photo after they loaded the 1942 B Farmall onto a trailer to haul to Rushmore for restoration.