12 October 25

 It's National Farmers Day! The farmers in my "farmily" are few and far between -- two uncles, a couple of cousins and one or two great-grandfathers. But we are now great supporters of CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), with close attachments to Lazy Eight Stock Farm, Elmwood Stock Farm, Stepping Stone Farm and Berea Farmers Market. The original American Kleppinger (Johann Georg, 1707-1786) was a farmer in eastern Pennsylvania. I am quite sure he did not have a tractor.

20 February 25

The third week in February is both Future Farmers of America Week and CSA Week. My tractors tie is great for celebrating agriculture! Our local CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) is Lazy Eight Stock Farm, between Berea and Paint Lick. We have just signed up for our (usual) weekly share of vegetables from Lazy Eight, scheduled to start in May. We pick up our share at the Berea Farmers Market.

4 November 22

Born on this date, Henry George "Harry" Ferguson (1884-1960) is credited as the inventor of the modern tractor. Ferguson's major contribution was the "three-point linkage" plow hitch, first marketed in 1922 and commercially successful around 1938. His company, in Great Britain, eventually became Massey-Ferguson. "Harry" had contentious relations with Henry Ford and his sons, who wanted to produce his tractors in the United States. My tie celebrates tractors, showing the green paint familiar for John Deere rather than the RED color of Massey-Ferguson models.

4 November 21

Born on this date, Henry George "Harry" Ferguson (1884-1960) is credited as the inventor of the modern tractor. Ferguson's major contribution was the "three-point linkage" plow hitch, first marketed in 1922 and commercially successful around 1938. His company, in Great Britain, eventually became Massey-Ferguson. "Harry" had contentious relations with Henry Ford and his sons, who wanted to produce his tractors in the United States. My tie celebrates tractors, showing the green paint familiar for John Deere rather than the RED color of Massey-Ferguson models. (I learned that John Deere (1804-1886) never was directly involved with tractors -- his company got into the tractor business in 1918.)

4 November 19

When Beth gave me this tie featuring tractors she suggested some occasions to wear it, but I uncovered this one -- the birthday of Henry "Harry" Ferguson, the inventor of the modern tractor. He lived from 1884-1960. One person who saw me today mentioned the inconsistency of showing off GREEN tractors, in the style of John Deere, to honor a day associated with RED Massey Ferguson models!

20 February 19

This is the middle of National FFA Week. Just as "KFC" no longer trumpets the words behind its initialism, the organization historically known as the Future Farmers of America now goes by "FFA," because its interests are truly global and extend far beyond barns and cornfields. National FFA Week always falls (or springs up?) in the full week that includes 22 February, the birthday of George Washington. He always "thought of himself first as a farmer" who "devoted his life to the improvement of American agriculture." He experimented with all kinds of soils and fertilizers to improve crop yields. When Beth gave me this tie for Christmas, she included the suggestion to wear tractors for National FFA Week! The tail of the tie asks "Were you born in a barn?"

4 November 18

Born on this date, Henry George "Harry" Ferguson (1884-1960) is credited as the inventor of the modern tractor. Ferguson's major contribution was the "three-point linkage" plow hitch, first marketed in 1922 and commercially successful around 1938. His company, in Great Britain, eventually became Massey-Ferguson. "Harry" had contentious relations with Henry Ford and his sons, who wanted to produce his tractors in the United States. My tie celebrates tractors, showing the green paint familiar for John Deere. (I learned that John Deere (1804-1886) never was directly involved with tractors -- his company got into the tractor business in 1918.)

6 August 18

Yesterday, Beth surprised me with a tractors tie! I'm wearing it today to make up for missing "Drive Your Tractor to School Day" on 30 March, "National Ag Day" on 19 March, Barn Day on 8 July, and my farmer-cousin Gene Murphy's birthday on 19 June! The next appropriate occasion appears to be National FFA Week, in February.