From 1939 to 1953, the Ford N-series tractor was one of the most common workhorses on prairie farms across North America.
And some of those vintage tractors are still doing their share of ‘labouring in the vineyard’ through a Warman-based Christian ministry organization helping poverty-stricken people in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.
Frank and Liz Guenther of Warman began Christlike Ministries two decades ago. Over the past twenty years, the organization has provided food, shelter and clothing to impoverished residents of the Mexican city just across the border from El Paso, Texas.
The organization raises funds in Canada to build homes in Juarez’s poorest neighbourhoods for struggling families. In addition to residences, the organization has built one church and is currently working on a second to bring spiritual aid to Christian families in the area. They also provide food and clothing to those in need.
Up until last year the group raised funds through an annual gospel music festival in Warman. The COVID-19 pandemic put a temporary stop to that event.
Still, that hasn’t stopped the group from continuing to raise money for its ongoing projects in Mexico, according to Frank Guenther.
“Conditions in Mexico are very bad,” he said. “I know a lot of people say there are lots of less fortunate people in Canada too, and that’s true. But in Mexico there is not the welfare system we have here in Canada. People there truly struggle to survive.”
Guenther said people have been generous with donations, but that doesn’t cover all the expenses.
So to fill the gap, the group is relying heavily on another ongoing source of funds: the sale of restored Ford N-series tractors.
The vintage four-cylinder tractors are ideal for acreages.
“We purchase the tractors when we find them,” said Guenther. “And then we restore and refurbish them so they run really well and sell them at a good price.”
A pair of fully-restored Ford N-series tractors are currently parked in front of the Warman Gospel Church on Central Street. To the casual observer, it appears the ‘for sale’ sign they display doesn’t attract many buyers.
But that’s deceptive.
The tractor you saw there last week may well have been sold and replaced by yet another similar-looking one this week.
“These were a very popular tractor in their day,” said Guenther, who has restored dozens of Ford N-series units over the years. “Now, they’re kind of a thing of the past.
“But when they’re restored, they’re a great addition for an antique collector; or they can still have a function as a working tractor on an acreage because they all have a three-point hitch.”
The Ford Motor Company introduced the 9N model tractor in 1939, featuring an innovative three-point hitch that set the standard for tractors to this day. It also had a four-cylinder in-line engine and three-speed manual transmission, Back in 1939, a new 9N tractor sold for $585. It proved immensely popular and helped phase out horses, which until then were still widely used on prairie farms.
In 1942, the company brought in the 2N model, which featured some improvements but still relied on a three-speed transmission. In 1947, the 8N model, which industry observers say was the most popular tractor of all time in North America, provided additional power with a four-speed transmission. Over 530,000 8N units were sold worldwide, and many of them are still in use today.
The N-series models were discontinued in 1953.
Between 1917 and 1928, tractors rolling off Ford’s assembly line in Michigan were branded with the ‘Fordson’ label because a misleading Ford brand not related to Henry Ford was squatting on the Ford name at the time, according to Wikipedia. Ford did not produce tractors between 1928 and 1939.