Hiland FFA produces an International success story
The old was made new again, thanks to the hard work of the Hiland High School FFA students and adviser Jeff Blakley. One small problem forced work on the tractor to roll over into next year.
The International Harvester McCormick Farmall tractor came into the Hiland FFA Department three years ago, a broken down, rusty gift from Ron Brynley.
It has since blossomed into a gorgeous tractor that appears to have rolled right off the assembly line.
Hiland FFA adviser Jeff Blakley has used every inch of the tractor to challenge his students to rebuild it, and in the process they have learned a great deal about repairing and transforming a piece of machinery.
“That donation from Ron has been a tremendous blessing and a great educational tool for troubleshooting a tractor,” Blakley said.
After the tractor sat dormant last year, this year’s senior group chose to pour themselves into the tractor project, with their sights set on putting the finishing touches on it, bringing the project home.
However, something came knocking on the door, and that sound caused the class to put the brakes on finishing the project.
“Not too long ago, we had it running for about 20 minutes, and I asked the kids, ‘Do you hear that knocking sound?’ Sure enough, we heard this continual knocking sound,” Blakley said.
They went to work as a group to figure out what was causing the issue.
What they found was a shiny black spot on the metal protecting the back-left side of the engine, a shiny spot that served as a clue to what was causing the knocking sound.
According to Blakley, at one time during the tractor’s life, it threw a rod that went right through the metal. The rod was fixed and the metal welded, but he said there was leather placed next to the rod when it was previously fixed, and that leather piece eventually dried out and the rod became loose.
“We dropped the pan and checked it out, and you could see where it was hitting,” Blakley said. “We’ve got to replace the rod, which means we’ll have to remove the head, take the valves off and take the pistons out and put everything back together.”
That means the project won’t be finished until next year’s seniors get a chance to take a whack at fixing the problem.
“We were so excited about finishing this project, so it was a little disappointing,” Blakley said.
While disappointing, the problem comes with a silver lining. It now offers Blakley more opportunities to teach mechanics and troubleshooting to his students, so with each step back, there is a step forward.
“We discovered the issue in April and simply knew we didn’t have enough time left to fix the problem because I only get these kids for 40 minutes every day,” Blakley said. “But the lessons continue on, and this tractor has provided our students with some really great opportunities to learn.”
Blakley said last year’s seniors didn’t really have an interest in working on the project, so it sat dormant, but the excitement returned this year. They wanted to have the tractor ready to drive in the Harvest Fest in Berlin later this summer, but that won’t happen.
However, the entire process has created some wonderful opportunities for education, from issues with the starter and the battery to oil leaks, painting and decaling and just about everything that works on a tractor.
“You can’t learn to fix these things very easily from a book. You need to gain the hands-on experience,” Blakley said. “The kids did a lot of work finding ways to fix the things that were broken.”
While the kids worked on the engine and body, they got a major assist from Mt. Hope Auction and the Mt. Hope Auction cafeteria, both entities donating a large tire to the program.
Once it is complete next year, the Hiland FFA will present a raffle, with the proceeds going toward the purchase of another old, rusty tractor they hope to get purring like a kitten.
“This was a very good life lesson for all of us,” Blakley said. “Just when we thought we had it, something else came up, but you keep pressing on and working to solve the problems. It’s been a wonderful project that these kids will always remember.”
Blakley said the goal is to make this some that perpetuates itself so they can purchase an old tractor, repair it and repeat the process.
He also said the community played a big role in making this happen, something he said the area is so well known for when it comes to supporting the East Holmes students.
“We’re so blessed to have that in every aspect of the school district,” he said.
While this recent problem may have knocked them for a loop, the FFA will eventually find the way to make every repair in bringing an old relic back to its natural beauty.