In the '30s as horsepower changed from quiet to noise
Martin Hagen was farming along with five boys.
Eldon, Raymond, and Irvin, the first three,
With Marlin and Harold filling out their family.
The years have gone by. The boys have all grown
With farms, jobs, and children of their own.
In 1937 Eldon remembers a day
When Martin was dealing on a new John Deere A
And a disc, a plow, and a cultivator.
But the deal fell through. Martin would wait until later.
"I was so disappointed," I heard Eldon say,
"When I learned there would be no new John Deere A."
A year went by and there Martin stood
At Larson's John Deere in the town of Northwood
Dealing on a disc, a cultivator, and a 2-14 plow.
But one thing was different. It was a model B now.
Martin said, "That plow can't be pulled by that B."
"If it can't," Larson said, "You can have it for free."
The deal was sealed with that guarantee.
Trading a team of horses for the implements and that B.
Irvin remembers very vividly
Farming 300 acres with 2 horses and the B.
He put the most hours on that tractor of Dad's.
"That was when I put lights on it," he quietly adds.
One time when Martin went threshing all day,
Harold, aged 10, would now have his way.
His dad was gone. He'd drive the tractor for sure
And he spent the whole day hauling manure.
After 12 years of service and reliability
It was traded in 1950 for another John Deere B.

In the '70s Harold was collecting machinery
And for his collection he wanted a John Deere G.
There was a G for sale a few miles from here
And another tractor with it, a model B John Deere.
Harold was interested in that John Deere G
But he had no use for the old model B.
The owner was firm. They'd be sold as a pair.
Harold bought the B even though he didn't care.
And he put on some new paint. It looked pretty good.
Then he sold it at a sale held in the neighborhood.

Years went by. Harold felt a longing in his heart
For his dad's tractor. But where would he start?
Harold wanted to find dad's B to get it back.
So he asked a question of the dealer's son, Jack.
"Was the B's serial number recorded in a book?"
Jack still had the records. He said he'd look.
Jack found it. It was model B 52621.
The search was on by Martin's youngest son.

In the Northwood paper Harold placed an ad
Looking for the tractor that belonged to his dad.
He got no reply and he feared he would fail
When he remembered that B he sold at a sale.

The B had been bought by Arden Midtgaard.
Arden owned it yet. It was parked in his yard.
Maybe this was the tractor, owned by his friend,
That at last would bring Harold's search to an end?
Harold called Arden and said, "Do a favor for me."
"Would you let me know the serial number of that B?"
Harold asked several more times. Arden would forget.
And the months went by with no serial number yet.

Harold bought a few tractors. Then bought one more.
It was an International Harvester model W-4.
A beautiful tractor, and it caught Arden's eye.
Could he buy it from Harold? Did he dare try?
Arden remembered the B parked at his place
And he knew up his sleeve he was holding an ace.
For a long time Arden knew he had 52621
And with his good friend, Arden was having some fun.
Then Harold said something that opened the door,
"If that's my dad's tractor, I'll trade you the W-4."
The game was over. Arden played the trump card.
The two tractors were traded by Hagen and Midtgaard.

Is this the story's end of Martin's model B?
Not quite, there's a little more Hagen history.
The boys have all grown. Each searched his memory
About their dad and his years with the B.
Martin loved horses and thought they would last.
Tractors were destined to disappear in the past.
With Martin's love of horses, and sons numbering five,
It was dad's tractor, the one he never did drive.