Ian Rubrey wrote:
Why do farmers insist
on keeping things that they obviously don't want?
It goes back to the days of horses. To a farmer, the very
survival of his family depended upon the output of his horse. They
were affectionately named, treated fairly well, and always buried with
love and care -- usually on a nice burial site with a pretty view of the
farm. Horses were indeed an important part of the family.
Now fast-forward to 'modern' times. Farm vehicles often replaced
the horse, but their importance and dependence on them never decreased.
Most farm vehicles have a name (ask any farmer the name of his truck and
he'll gladly tell you), and are kept running for amazing periods of time.
(I know of someone who still cuts hay with a 1924 Ford tractor and an 1870-something
haymower) Vehicles are still part of the farm family, after all.
When they 'die', they are usually parked carefully and lovingly in a
nice spot, the same way a horse would have been buried in times past.
To a farmer, selling one of his old vehicles is akin to selling you the
bones of his dead horse. They often just want their beloved part
of the family to 'rest in peace'.
That's the short of it. There is a whole chapter on this very
subject in a book called "Wheels for a Nation" that I read a few months
back.
-Dave
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