good story garvo..... my dad has passed down a lot of stories from the "day".  had a similar incident happen to me a few years ago, got a flat tire on a wagon not far from the spot where my dad told me that in his early years of farming he and grandpa had a 2mh picker on a ih "m".   they were moving to another farm late one nov. night and busted a axle on the tractor.  was about 9:00 at night,    it was cold and starting to rain,  dragged into the neighbors yard, and got it blocked up, called the local ih dealership and a mechanic came out and they fixed that axle that night. didn't get done to the wee hours of the morning.     talk about being dedicated and tough.      
 
 I on the other hand just called local tire dealer, he showed up in about 20 minutes, and the tire was changed out in about 10 minutes, and down the road I went, no worse for the wear.    
 
 these stories need to be told garvo, so the next generation can appreciate, all that was done in the past to pave the way for the future.    like the fact that  your dad at 12 years old was already doing a mans job.        or a young ih mechanic with family to feed, was willing to brave the cold and late hours to help a young farmer with a family to feed also.     sometimes I just have to sit back and recall some of the stories, so I can appreciate my lot in life.