The Spiker Family Tractor

Farm life in rural Ritchie County was rough, tough and never ending. Cattle were the main source of income for most farmers. To have cattle, farmers had to cut and store hay in barns or haystacks located at various locations where cattle could be fed during fall, winter and spring months. The machines to cut, rake and haul the hay were pulled by horses. Just like some Amish still do today. This was slow, time-consuming work.

Some farmers were able to save money and purchase a tractor. This reduced the time and effort to cut, rake and store the hay used to feed the cattle, horses and sheep. Jacob Spiker and his son, Brad Spiker, jointly did the hay farming. When Brad acquired the land and farmhouse where Alice and he raised their children, they jointly farmed those tracts as well.

In 1957, Brad saved enough to buy a new 1957 Allis-Chalmers “B” tractor from Hayhurst Equipment in Pennsboro, WV. This was used to cut the hay (it had a cutter bar on the side to do this), pull the hay rake, hay wagon, and other farm implements. One of those was a hay loader which is now in the yard of the farm as a yard ornament. It pulled raked hay off the ground and fed it to a person who moved it on a wagon pulled behind the tractor (the wagon we used is currently next to the campfire in the yard of the farm) and that wagon was connected to the hay loader.  That was all pulled behind the tractor.  The horses could never have pulled all that weight.  The wagon loaded with hay was then pulled to a barn or to a location for a haystack.  The tractor was also used for other projects like cutting tall grass, weeds and other “filth” on hillsides and around the streams, pulling logs and other heavy-duty work. 

The exact price Bradford Spiker paid for his Allis-Chalmers model B tractor is unknown. Based on costs of that time for Allis B’s it would have been around $2,000.00+. I have exact specifications for the tractor, but basic info is 1) 4-cylinder engine, 2) 1500 rpms, 3) 2,250+ weight, and 4) with speed of 8 – 10 MPH. It had 4 gears (1st, 2nd, 3rd, and reverse) and the tank held 13 gallons of gas.  Other information is available in books I have. The color is Allis-Chalmers orange.  Now, as a fully restored tractor, it is one of the top restored Allis B’s in existence. There were different variations of the Allis B and different accessories.  The Spiker Allis B has a straight front axle and cutter bar used for grass cutting.  I do not think there are very many, if any, 1957 B tractors in as good condition.

I operated the tractor for a number of years for trimming purposes mainly and to pull trees and debris to keep the farm clean.  Eventually, due to its age, the tractor was not safe for hillside work, and I continued to keep it maintained primarily for trimming and pulling logs and debris.  When I purchased a newer, updated tractor the Allis-Chalmers B was stored. I later found a person to restore it. I paid him to replace certain aging parts, rewire, strip and repaint it. Just like people restore old automobiles. I finished the painting detailing project with silver trim. I then brought it back to the farm.  It is now in the new storage building.