Production Blog

Scouting The Back Roads

Chuck Lambe's restored red 1957 International Harvester Farmall 450. (DTN photo by Pam Smith)

OTTER CREEK, Iowa (DTN) -- Chuck Lambe blinked a couple of times when I skidded to a stop in front of his white farm house Thursday. The dust mycarkicked up coming down the gravel road gave notice of my approach. Tractors and hay wagons are the bulk of the traffic on this country back road somewhere in northeast Iowa.

What caught my eye was the gleaming red 1957 International Harvester Farmall 450 that stood in front of a pristine white shed and beneath a brilliant blue sky. Lambe had thoughtfully positioned the American flag and the IH flag there too. Who cares if anyone drives by? It's enough to be proud and the 4th of July is just the day to do it.

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I'm not sure what led me to this road and this place. I wanted to see beyond the sanitized highway littered with truck stops and fast food restaurants. The embodiment of independence is being able to take any road I please. That day, it led me to Lambe.

Lambe retired from farming in the 1990s and went to work in town for a number of years. We stood drenched by the noon sun as he told of the tractor's generations of service to his family. He explained that each part was original and restoring it was mostly a matter of a new paint. He drives the tractor in parades when he really wants to show off.

A calico cat came out and haughtily rubbed against my leg. A pat on the head sent the cat strutting off to prove its own independence. Lambe and I talked of the maddening gnats that buzzed around our ears, how the corn crop was coming and the beautiful steeple of the Catholic church in the distance. We discussed nothing of world matters, but of everything that mattered, right then and there, to us.

I breathed deeply of the smell of freshly mown hay that surrounded us and wished Lambe luck. He waved and thanked me for stopping before going back to his chores. A red spot of tractor reflected in my rear view mirror until dust and distance won out and left me with a reminder that our freedoms come in many forms.

Pamela Smith can be reached at Pamela.smith@telventdtn.com

(CZ)

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Comments

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Pamela Smith
8/14/2013 | 8:39 AM CDT
Totally random find as I wandered back roads. It makes me realize that I don't stop enough...there are many stories to be told.
Unknown
8/10/2013 | 5:48 PM CDT
Sharing stories is so fulfilling, especially of rural America. Just curios if this was a planned visit or if off the beaten path is the normal like it is for me?
Pamela Smith
7/28/2013 | 10:01 AM CDT
Thanks Howard. I love driving the back roads. You never know what you will discover!
Howard Hales
7/12/2013 | 3:09 PM CDT
Great story about the patriotic nature of people even if they live in the middle of no where. I loved the picture and it reminded me of my grandfather's tractor, and all the hard work he did. Thanks for sharing!