The Rural Voice, 2002-11, Page 22George and Barb Smyth's team — a Pony and a Pacer — does not consume oats but can pull a wagon or plow. The
Smyths are seated on the wagon. Standing out front are: David Perry of Burlington, president of The Twin Power
Heritage Association; club member David Johnston of Bolton; and Laverne Bilyea who hosted the Massey -Harris Field
Day with his wife Marilyn.
FONDLY REMEMBERED
Massey -Harris owners gather to celebrate
the red and bellow Canadian pioneer
Story and photos by Jeffrey Carter
The red and yellow of Massey -
Harris greeted folks a stone's
throw west of Birr at Laverne
and Marilyn Bilyea's farm on
October 5. The Twin Power Heritage
Association sponsored the day which
provided Massey -Harris enthusiasts
with a chance to give their equipment
a workout or simply to watch and
reminisce.
"The second tractor my father
owned — he bought it in 1952 —
was a 44 Massey... and the original
tractor is still in the family,"
18 THE RURAL VOICE
association member Paul Johnston
said. "It cost more for me to restore it
than what he paid for it brand new."
Johnston, who operates a dairy
and cash crop farm near Bolton, puts
his restoration costs at $4,500. Of
course, the $2,500 his father paid for
the tractor would have gone a lot
further in 1952.
There's a similar story behind
Laverne Bilyea's interest in Massey -
Harris.
"My dad bought his first tractor in
1947 — a Massey -Harris 20 — from
Steve Medd in Ilderton and 1 think he
paid $1,260 for it. Later he traded it
in and he got the 44 Special that's
still sitting up in the yard there."
David Perry of Burlington didn't
farm but nevertheless had a close.
association with Massey -Harris over
the years. He worked as a mechanic
for 30 years for Milton Equipment
which carried the Massey line until
1991 when the dealership closed.
Today Perry operates a general
repairs service and is president of
The Twin Power Heritage
Association.
"My grandfather mostly had
Massey -Harris equipment and the
Perry family still farms in Halton
County. We've been there since the
late 1800s."
Massey -Harris has been around
for most of those years. Bilyea,
Johnston, and Perry put their heads