This page contains a Flash digital edition of a book.
Tractor Transformations


By JuliAnn Graham H


ooker, Okla., has been referred to as ‘a little jewel in the Panhandle.’ What many people outside the lively com- munity don’t know is that one man is


transforming junk to jewels in his workshop on U.S. Highway 54.


On any given day, a passerby on the highway might see a line of antique tractors waiting for sale or restoration. The tractors belong to Lawrence Balzer, a member of Tri-County Electric Cooperative, whose shop neighbors the cooperative’s warehouse and Hooker Substation. When Balzer runs out of space in his shop buildings, tractors he’s not working on go in the yard by his shop.


“I like to see some of the old history being re- stored,” Balzer said. “It reminds me of my child- hood. It’s also a pleasure to see a piece of junk turn into something that is nearly like the factory made it.”


At 91 years old, Balzer has been restoring old ma-


chinery for close to 70 years. He said he’s restored hundreds of tractors, too many to count. He’s also restored antique manure spreaders, turning them into museum pieces or even salad bars for restau- rants. In the past, he’s worked on cars and pickups as well. Today, collectors purchase most of the pieces he restores and they show them in parades or competitions.


What started as a necessity while he was farming near Hooker in the 1940s became a source of addi- tional income over the years. Balzer retired from farming in 1994 but he continues his hobby of work- ing on antiques today. Tri-County Electric Cooperative’s Vice President of Member Solutions Chris Purdy stopped by Balzer’s shop to visit with him. Several fi nished trac- tors and a couple of works-in-progress were in the shop. Balzer was happy to show Purdy a few fi nished pieces, even bringing one to life with its roar and rumble. One of Balzer’s prouder moments is when the photo he submitted of a 1948 John Deere Model D tractor made the John Deere Magazine’s Calendar. The tractor was given to him for hauling it out of a pasture. It was in pretty poor shape and he restored


30 WWW.OK-LIVING.COOP it to almost new condition. Much of Balzer’s business comes from folks pass-


ing by on the highway who see his tractors in the yard and stop to inquire if any are for sale, though not everything Balzer has is for sale.


“The manure spreader is just for me,” he said. “And I’ve got another tractor I won’t sell out in the shop. I told the fellow when I bought it that I didn’t plan to sell it and I won’t. I’ve had offers for it but it’s just not for sale.”


Balzer told Purdy an interesting story about an antique radio that sits on a shelf in his shop. The radio is another special relic from the past he will not part with.


“We went to church every Christmas Eve,” he said. “But in 1944 we were snowed in and there was no way we could get out. So, we were listening to that radio, which we had just bought. It ran on a battery pack because we didn’t have electricity out there yet. Anyway, that radio had a world band on it and we were listening to the Red Cross interviewing soldiers all over the world in different isolated spots. And oh my goodness, one of the soldiers came on saying, ‘I am Corporal Merle L. Miller. Tell my mother Nancy I’m okay.’


“He was our neighbor just down the road who had been missing in action for years. Boy, I mean that really hit home. I couldn’t get out right away but three days later I drove my tractor four miles east and one mile south to the Miller place to give his mother that message.” Merle L. Miller is the father of Tri-County Electric Cooperative Warehouseman Lloyd Miller. He was a prisoner of war during World War II and was part of the Bataan Death March. He was discharged from the Army in June 1946. He died on March 29, 1990. Memories like those are what Balzer preserves


when he transforms tractors and other antiques from junk to jewels in his shop in Hooker. He says many people mention their grandparents or parents driving tractors like he restores and that’s why they buy them. Whether they end up in a museum or a private collection, the fi nished pieces Balzer creates will be cherished like the memories they represent.


1948 John Deere Model D after restoration. This photo was featured in John Deere’s Magazine Calendar. Courtesy photo


Lawrence Blazer has the gift of restoring tractors. Photo by JuliAnn Graham/Tri-County


Manure spreader prior to Blazer’s restoration work. Courtesy photo


Restored manure spreader after Blazer’s hard work. Courtesy photo


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108  |  Page 109  |  Page 110  |  Page 111  |  Page 112  |  Page 113  |  Page 114  |  Page 115  |  Page 116  |  Page 117  |  Page 118  |  Page 119  |  Page 120  |  Page 121  |  Page 122  |  Page 123  |  Page 124  |  Page 125  |  Page 126  |  Page 127  |  Page 128  |  Page 129  |  Page 130  |  Page 131  |  Page 132  |  Page 133  |  Page 134  |  Page 135  |  Page 136  |  Page 137  |  Page 138  |  Page 139  |  Page 140  |  Page 141  |  Page 142  |  Page 143  |  Page 144  |  Page 145  |  Page 146  |  Page 147  |  Page 148  |  Page 149  |  Page 150  |  Page 151  |  Page 152  |  Page 153  |  Page 154  |  Page 155  |  Page 156  |  Page 157  |  Page 158  |  Page 159  |  Page 160