John Deere, Massey-Harris, Farmall, Minneapolis-Moline and Case. For many of us, these names spell Mom and Dad or Grandpa and Grandma on "the farm." We are the people who have fond and loving memories of what it was like on the farm when we were young. Those old tractors bring back treasured memories of family and the land.

The 16th annual Agricultural Heritage Days was held Sept. 26-27 at the Kewaunee County Fairgrounds in Luxemburg. It is an event that is well worth attending. A good experience for the children of the area would be to see the tractors and equipment that their grandparents relied upon to allow them to be one with the soil and to enable them to survive and thrive on the farm for generations past. May future generations honor their heritage.

If you have a good imagination you could sense the ghost of Grandpa sitting on the seat of his Massey-Harris. He would be bringing the last wagonload of hay off the field just ahead of a fearsome thunderstorm. Next to the Massey-Harris at the Heritage Days was a John Deere like Uncle Joe's. His phantom hands would be cold on the steering wheel as he plows at night as the snow starts to fall. The stories are endless.

Grandpa and the old ways of farming are no more. Many thanks to the men and women who share their time and antique equipment to show us how it was done in days gone by. Admiration, respect and reverence can sometimes be spelled T.R.A.C.T.O.R.

Bruce Vandervest

Luxemburg