So Long, Stella

Last Saturday Mare, Ella and I went to the shop to say goodbye to Steady Stella. And to write her name on her so the new owner would know what to call her. For those of you who haven't been to the ranch, Stella was our 1982 John Deere 7720 combine. We recently upgraded to a newer, larger machine, so we sold Stella to our combine mechanic.  We've owned her since 1984. She was the first combine I ever drove, and she has been Maret's combine during harvest for many years now. A few years ago, during a rather long and drawn out harvest, all the other combines were constantly breaking down. But our 7720, which was old and slow and outclassed, kept on running while the other machines were parked at the edge of the field getting fixed. That is how she earned the name of Steady Stella.

 

It is surprising how attached one can get to a combine. It is different from driving a car; the level of interaction is much more intimate. All the senses are involved. Every morning during harvest you walk around the machine and do any number of maintenance checks: greasing zerks, checking the oil, tugging on the belts, and wobbling the pulleys to test the bearings for slop.

Once in the field cutting the crop, one is constantly adjusting the speed, the header height, and the reel height, all while steering carefully to keep the header fully in the crop. Meanwhile one listens closely to the raucous din of the machine, trying to discern any new or unusual squeals, whines, rattles, or whoomph-whoomphs that could indicate a problem in the making. Occasionally, one will even smell a problem- maybe burnt rubber from a shredded belt.

All the hours spent, day after long harvest day, over the course of twenty some-odd years, driving and fixing the same combine breeds a familiarity that is hard to explain. The machine becomes an extension of you. An enormous, lumbering extension.  

Stella wasn't always the most enjoyable machine to drive, either. The cab was small, and with the engine right next to it, the noise was deafening. But unlike the new machines which are completely computerized and digital, with tiny color coded toggle switches everywhere, Stella was old school. She had multiple analog gauges, and big knobs to turn, and long levers to push and pull. She was from a different generation. Driving Stella made you feel a bit like the Wizard in the Wizard of Oz, behind the curtain, furiously at work adjusting the machine, cutting the wheat. You knew you were getting work done. 

You'll be missed, Stella.

Here are a few photos of Stella, some new and some old.

 

Comments

[CHAD BREKEL]

VERY COOL AND NEAT ARTICLE. JOEL SHOWED ME THIS WEBSITE THE OTHER DAY AND I WAS EXCITED TO READ ABOUT STELLA. STELLA IS THE TWIN TO A COMBINE MY DAD OWNED JUST THREE YEARS AGO THAT I ALSO GREW UP DRIVING MY WHOLE CHILDHOOD. SINCE I HAVE BEEN WORKING EACH YEAR VERY HARD ON GAINING MORE GROUND TO FARM MYSELF, I WAS VERY HAPPY AND EXTREMELY PROUD TO BE ABLE TO OWN A COMBINE LIKE STELLA THAT HAS HAD GREAT CARE AND MANY GOOD YEARS OF SERVICE. I HOPE TO KEEP UP ON TAKING MORE PICTURES OF HER DOING HER JOB YEARLY. AS ESTABLISHED FARMS UPDATE AS NECESSITY, IT IS GREAT FOR BEGINING FARMERS THAT ARE YOUNG TO HAVE A CHANCE TO BE ABLE TO FARM AND HAVE OPORTUNITY TO OWN SUCH GREAT USED EQUIPMENT. STELLA IS IN GOOD HANDS AND WILL BE USED VERY PROUDLY. HAVE ANOTHER GREAT YEAR. BEST WISHES FROM MY FAMILY.