Back When: 1949 Massey Harris 22

After an ice storm hit Campbellsport, Wisconsin in March of 1976, Bill Breitzman saw that he would need a tractor to clean up the mess it left behind in his yard. Although he had driven tractors since he was five-yearsold, Bill had never owned a tractor of his own.

 

Twenty-eight miles away in Grafton, Wisconsin, Bill’s brother-in-law Ronnie Beck, of Kewaskum, Wisconsin, spotted a 1953 Massey Harris on the lot at Hemble Implement and suggested to Bill that he check it out. Bill purchased the MH 22 and loaded it onto his trailer and hauled it home.

 

While preparing the 22 for repainting a mystery was revealed that has not been completely solved to this day. While sanding the seat, Bill began to reveal that it was originally yellow; the standard color of a seat on a Massey Harris 22 is red. All the old Massey dealerships were now closed, so it remains a mystery. Bill said the closest he has come to an explanation may be that the factory may have been near the end of a run for the model, since 1953 was the last model year of the MH 22 that started in 1948, and they ran out of red seats and went to the construction line and pulled some yellow seats off the shelf to complete the run.

 

Most of the time the 22 is parked in the barn, occasionally it is brought out to plant or cultivate corn, but due to it’s gearing, it is a little fast for fieldwork. It will run down the road comfortably at twenty miles per hour, and it works well for tractor rides, parades and shows.