Phil and Tractor (click for larger version)
Not sure of this photo's history, nor why I have a copy on my hard drive, but from what I can tell, Phil flipped the tractor over trying to tow something too heavy. I'm guessing George took the photo, but could be wrong. Obviously, taken in Frostpocket, I'm guessing circa 1978.
Update, actually my uncle, Jeff, took the photo. Here is Phil's account of the incident:
Jeff and I were cutting logs for the house he wanted to build on his land near Rye. The logs were dragged out of the woods to a roadway where they were loaded onto a wagon for transport to the saw mill. To get the logs out of the woods, we hitched the logs to a chain attached to the tractor’s hitching bar. We would have to lengthen or shorten the chain to keep the log from hanging up on roots and stumps. In this case the log hung up on a stump. Ideally the driver would depress the clutch while the chainman moved the log. Jeff was driving and looking forward when the log hung up. By the time he realized what was happening the tractor had already come up to a very steep angle. He tried but could not depress the clutch and jumped from the seat just before the tractor flipped over on its back. We righted the tractor using a chain fall and then repaired the minor damage to the headlight. A contributing factor was our tendency to shorten the chain by wrapping the excess around a hitch that was above the rear wheel axle. The tractor would have reared up even if we had not done this but the motor might have stalled rather than completely flipping the tractor on its back.As the tractor slowly reared up I remember thinking about what I would have to do to pull Jeff’s body from below the tractor and what I would say to his wife. Fortunately he jumped at the last minute although his leg was penned under the tractor. The ground was soft moss and so he was not hurt. We took another photo when we had the tractor right side up but still hanging in the air at a steep angle. I posed for an action shot pretending that I was in the driver’s seat as the thing flipped over. Jeff gave me a print of that photo and I have it hanging in my room now.
This type of accident (along with tractor rollovers from turning too sharply and quickly) accounts for most farm accidental deaths. Typically what happens is the tractor is pulling a heavy load like a combine when it hits a soft spot in the field and the combine gets stuck. The rear wheels of the tractor dig into the dirt putting the tractor motor above the rear axle. If the wheels finally stop spinning the front of the tractor is simply picked up and flipped over. Unless the driver jumps or shuts off the motor in time he is caught under the tractor. Usually elderly men and young boys are killed in this way.
Rye is even more in the boonies than Frostpocket is, though in the adjoining township. Seems like it was about a 30 minute drive, quite much of which was (is?) unpaved, gravel road.
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