VINTAGE MULE
by Mark Neeley

It’s finally spring! Every spring it’s the same thing. Living in Texas we have several things you can be assured of in the spring, one is the severe weather, which is another story and the other is it’s time to enjoy the outdoors again. Actually we have several nice winter months here as well, but there is something about springtime that naturally puts you in a good mood. I am not sure if it’s watching the regeneration of the trees and other vegetation or if it’s the warm weather. I think the rebirth that we all witness every year during the spring is the reason I personally find it to be one of my favorite times of the year. The spring also ushers in the time that I use one of my favorite machines most of all. If you are unaware of them, I would like to introduce you to the vintage Gravely Tractor.

The vintage Gravely Tractor was and is the finest multi purpose garden tractor ever manufactured. It’s a machine so tough that it will whip you in to submission if you think that you can keep up with it. I can speak from experience of having been around them all of my life.

I am a fourth generation Gravely tractor owner. My family history with the tractors reaches back to the 1940s. I do not remember that 1940s model that my great grandfather used, but I do remember the one used by my Granddad.

My introduction to a Gravely came at an early age around 1970 or so. My Grandfather, who we called Daddy-Bob, had a small rural “farm” that he and my grandmother worked. It was a magical place to a 4 or 5 year old child and I loved to help gather the eggs or other duties of the day. I followed Daddy-Bob around like a shadow when he went about his work on the place. Daddy-Bob had a large vegetable garden that he tended and for that job, he ran a late 1960s Gravely Super Convertible Tractor. I remember being very cautious of this machine, thinking at the time that it had a mind of its own and that it was not something to be played with. In fact, I was scared of it.

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