And what a day it was in Ruskin, Nebraska! Tub’s family started lining up tractors before 5:00am and by the time Robin and I arrived both sides of Main Street were lined with over 30 triple series tractors of all fuel types, wheel configurations and conditions. There were trailers loaded with manuals and parts, down the center of the street and toys, signs, and everything else Massey was on the sidewalks and between the buildings.
The sale lasted just over 5 hours and by 4:00 Main Street in Ruskin was just about back to normal. Trailers from as far away as Ontario and Maryland left filled with tractors and other Massey items. It is amazing how fast such a vast collection can be sold, picked up and on its way to its new homes.
Tonight, not only is Main Street in Ruskin a little darker without the neon glow of the Massey Harris dealer’s sign hanging outside Tub’s building. The whole Massey collecting world is a little less bright because there is no longer a place where the prairie transforms into sandhills that can take us back to a time when Massey Harris tractors could be purchased new. The Massey Harris shrine amidst the center pivots has been lost to the sands of time.
So Thanks Tub! Thanks for slowing the hands of time just a little so we could savor the past. Thanks for creating a time capsule of history to be passed on. And Thanks for being an example, mentor and friend to all Massey collectors. You truly are a legend in our time!
Bob