The people in my life probably think I’m nuts when I get excited about some of the things I photograph. For example, check out this old Harry Ferguson tractor in my cousin’s driveway.
I had no camera or phone with me so I had to borrow a phone to snap these pictures.
Yes, it sounds a smidge nuts.
I know you have a burning desire to know who this Harry Ferguson fellow was. He was an Irish born British mechanic and inventor who evidently played a major role in the development of the modern farm tractor.
He also developed a plow that could be attached to a Model T car, a real game changer for farmers who needed a car as well as an ability to plow- both expensive investments in a day before everyone lived on credit.
Funny – when I toured the Model T Museum in Richmond, Indiana during my National Road adventure last year, I learned a little about this topic. Oh… you haven’t read my account of the Model T Museum tour? Well, you need to so click this link as soon as you’re done reading this story!
A quick Google search tells me that he also developed the first four wheel drive Formula One car AND was the first person in Ireland to build and fly his own airplane.
And yes, he is THAT Ferguson – his name lives on today in the Massey Ferguson Company.
So back to my brand of crazy.
I just loved old cars, trucks, tractors and really any kind of large equipment or vehicle that has interesting lines or patina.
Bonus points for neat gauges and cool wheels!
One of these days someone will find me wandering through a junk yard, snapping photos of rusty old car taillights and gas gauges like a woman possessed.
For now though it’s just a cute little quirk….
You don’t have to travel very far on the National Road in Indiana to see some interesting things. Route 40 is four lane most of the way and cuts through farm country and small towns. You’ll see a lot of kitsch along the way and there are tons of antiques stores as the eastern section of this route had been branded “Antique Alley.”
This is one of many neat things I pulled over to take pictures of during my last trip through. It’s right along the highway in a cute town called Dublin.
On 
Here’s a pop of color to balance out all those black and whites I’ve been showing you lately. It’s also a preview for a fun story I’ll tell you soon about an old fashioned soda fountain I found last month.
