Ole Thoreson spent most of his life farming with horses.  Betsy was one of the last.  “She’d do anything for you.”  Leonard bought their first tractor, a Ford 9N, in 1947 when he came home after completing his Army service. 

Around 1931 Ole and his brother Fred rigged up an old Model T engine on skids.  It was kept in the basement of the granary, with a belt pulley running through the ceiling to the feed grinder above.  However, “Dad almost asphyxiated himself” while working with it inside, so they began moving it outside for grinding.  When it was time to use the silo filler or the firewood buzz saw rig, they used a team of horses to pull the motor around the farm to provide the power.  After getting the tractor, they used its power take-off for all these tasks.