Carpentering for the Carpenter

Back on the farm there was one think we young men (boys, really, about 12 or 13 years old.) wanted to be able to do in order to prove our manhood. It had nothing to do with girls, the local bully, or sports. But it was something that would establish our independence within the infrastructure of the family farm.

We had tractors on the farm (obviously). We'd learned to drive them. But we still could not start them. Why not you may ask? Don't you just have to turn a key or push a button? That's the way it is now, and the way it was then for one tractor, if the electrical system was working!

But the little John Deere "B" was another story! It was one of those old two cylinder machines that made the famous "pop pop" sound distinct to John Deere. But it had no electric starter. It had to be started "by hand" as we called it. On the side, attached to the engine was a rather large flywheel. One stated the engine by kneeling in front of this flywheel like you would propose to a young lady. After adjusting the throttle, choke, and decompression valves, we'd turn the flywheel one turn to prime the engine. Then we'd get it around to the point of compression. Now the test would come. One quick, hard, pull on the flywheel would start the engine. Supposedly! It usually took several attempts. If we were old enough, and strong enough to give that quick, hard, pull, we had achieved manhood. We could now start and run the tractor without Dad's help!