The life and legend of Dallas E Sharp

Offspring:    Simi I, Susie L, Louis R, & Aaron R

Dallas married (private) Ruth Bayer , (private) Sandra Lofton, and presently (private) to AG

You can take the boy off the farm, but you can't take the farm out of the boy!

Ancient History

College Room in Valley City, ND (430-6th Ave SE) pictures taken 2001

Memories in toy form

These are reminders of the past. The John Deere (JD) model A hooked to the baler (model 214T) and hay wagon (with bales of hay) were not ones we had on the farm, but shows how we made hay. The JD model GP, hooked to the steel-wheeled wagon, is the same model we owned on the farm in North Dakota; however, ours was on rubber. The tractor on the far right is a JD model D just for fun. [Our baler was a hand-tie baler - Dad on the outside pushing the wires through, Darrell on the inside (very dusty and dirty) tying the wires, Dallas loading wagon, and Mom driving.]

Boy, do these hay bales ever bring back memories of hot North Dakota summers! The wire tied bales were made very heavy, in excess of 100 lbs, because wire was very expensive. (Normal twine tied bales weighed a maximum of 60 lbs.) Below is how the wires were tied with your eyes closed (far too dirty to see). Dad would shove through the pre-made/manufactured loop-tied-end and your job, as the tier, was to put the bitter end into/through the loop, double it back and loop it around three times, then double it back toward the loop. The bitter end started out less than 5 inches of excess, so you totally wore out the finger tips of a pair of leather gloves. After Darrell left to drive gravel truck for Wayne Lauritsen for college money, I tied the wires on the inside and we let the bales drop on the ground. Then on the weekend when Darrell was home, Dad and Darrell threw the bales onto the wagon, I loaded the wagon, and Mom drove the tractor (Cheryl was still young, but drove the last year or so).

Grain wagon and shovel are reminders of lots of hard work. Front end loader (& a tractor) similar to this one (– gone – Thus a very expensive replacement tractor) was a Christmas and mumps gift when I was young (I want to say 10).

My first (the original) toy tractor is in the rear center of picture. A gift for Christmas in 1948 or 49. The tractor on left foreground is an expensive matching toy, less worn and damaged as my old tractor is, caused by the play of two generations. The crawler is a similar model to the one I drove as a 'grunt telephone lineman' putting the telephone system (party line) into our area and to our ND house during the summer between my junior & senior year (1960).

The tractors are all ones we owned, except the JD Model 720 with the front end loader, scraper blade, chains, and comforter. They are from top left (wheel only) JD model R, JD G with 4 bottom plow, and International Harvester (IH) Farmall model M. Point of trivia is that the JD G was a gas hog. Ours had a little more horsepower due to oversized pistons, so it could pull an extra bottom in plow size. The North Dakota gumbo (black dirt) usually cut a G from 4 to 3 bottoms, ours stayed at 4.

This is my father, Louis D, plowing with his John Deere Model R. The yellow paint job is like a newer JD tractor the model 80. The JD R was just all green, except wheels. (Pony starter engine, two-cylinder diesel, but had the distinctive John Deere 'putt-putt' sound) – Dad had bought the tractor used. The original owner had replaced some of his model R's with 80's and his youngest son did not like the fact that his JD was the "OLD' tractor, so the father had it repainted. Then, the son had gotten up late, rushed to the field, and run the JD R under a load before it was warmed up, so the engine blew up (One piston had a big burn through hole). My Dad repaired the engine, himself, as he was a good mechanic, and had a great economical tractor. Note this tractor has a comforter (brings heat onto the driver) very similar to the Model 720 in the previous picture; thus, the reason I bought that comforter covered replica toy.