Tractors, Traditions, and Friendships Stand the Test of Time
Times have changed and the number of working farms has diminished. Wilson Farm is, of course, still thriving, and Dennis Busa who ran Busa Farm with his brother Fran is still growing his corn on conservation land along Waltham Street (his corn is
available at Wagon Wheel Farmstand in Lexington). Another Farm that continues to quietly operate in Lexington is Dailey Farm on Marrett Road.
While most of the land at Dailey Farm is leased to growers like Wilson Farm, Bill Dailey remains staunchly committed to Lexington’s farming tradition.
Bill Dailey is a quasi-retired attorney and life-long Lexington resident. He’s a former member of the Lexington Board of Selectmen (now Lexington select Board), and a recipient of the prestigious Lion’s Club White Tricorn Hat Award. Bill is also a bit of a collector and recently came across a tractor that was an exact match for a tractor used at Dailey Farm when Bill was a young man.
Bill was excited by his find, however, the tractor was in Pennsylvania and needed a great deal of work to get it running. Bill explains, “In 1950, my brother John and I bought an 8N Ford tractor for the farm. We bought it from my uncle, Bill O’Sullivan. It was used but had it only a year or so of use. It had a sickle bar mounted on the side, and it had a snowplow frame that came underneath the tractor. It had a V plow that hitched to the snowplow frame. We used it around the farm for decades, and for some reason it was sold. Recently, I thought to myself, I’m going to get another 8N tractor. There is an 8N magazine that’s published for a lot of people who are interested in these tractors, and they sold hundreds of thousands of them. One of the real features, and it was quite new at the time, was the three point hitch on the back, which allowed you to raise the plow or whatever you were using, and made it so much easier to move around equipment. I found a fellow, a retired law enforcement officer in Warriors Mark, Pennsylvania, who had an 8N tractor for sale. He was a wonderful fellow to deal with, and I arranged to have one of these transport companies deliver the tractor by trailer from Warriors Mark right to Lexington. The fellow who was driving the trailer that the tractor was placed on had come from Phoenix, Arizona with an old vintage ramp truck and he put this tractor on the back of it and delivered it. I knew just where to bring it to have it restored because there are very few people truly capable of doing this quality work. So I brought it to John Carroll where his brother Ken Carroll and his team restored it to perfect condition. The tractor is restored as if it were new.”
For his part, John Carroll recalled restoring a similar tractor over twenty years ago, and talked of his relationship with Bill’s older brother, John. Carroll said, “Well, my father had a similar tractor that I restored 20 years ago. It was quite a project, but I enjoyed the challenge. My first job was working for Bill’s brother John, mowing the grass on Route 3 and 495, and it was quite an experience. I spent the entire summer cutting grass with that tractor. I never had such a good tan. In discussing this project with Bill, it brought back a lot of good memories, and we enjoyed doing this. We searched all over to find the parts. It needed a carburetor. The old carburetor needed to be taken apart, so we bought this one, and I was so shocked. The carburetor was only $28. We put it on, and the first time we turned the key it started right up.”
From the looks of it, this project brought these old friends back to a time in their lives that they recall with fondness. Many of us who live in Lexington have a difficult time recalling the days when Lexington was a true farming community. I have lived in Lexington my entire life, and can recall only a handful of farms that operated when I was a child.
For Bill Dailey, John Carroll, and Ken Carroll, this was a labor of love. Nostalgia can be a tremendous motivator. Bill Dailey may have satisfied a personal desire to bring a simple tractor back to Dailey Farm, but what he’s done is so much larger than that. He reminds us of what it means to build relationships that last for generations, he reminds us that there is great value and satisfaction that comes from working the earth, he reminds us of how important it is to be committed to something. For that, we owe Bill, John and Ken a debt of gratitude.
Watching Bill ride his tractor from John Carroll’s, along Waltham Street and down Marrett Road, you can see the excitement. He talks about this year’s crops at the farm, He said, “Almost The entire farm is planted now, and the goal is to get things started around by Memorial Day, if you can. And some things like sunflowers, you can plant second crops.”
Dailey expressed his gratitude to John and Ken, and the team of folks who restored the tractor to pristine condition. He said, “I appreciate all of their hard work. This tractor was entirely stripped down and rebuilt. They did a tremendous job, and I appreciate it very much.”
John Carroll, who is also a White Tricorn Hat recipient, clearly looks up to his friend Bill. I see both of these people as mentors, and I look forward to their next project.