The Chicken Chaser

THE CHICKEN CHASER



When you go to work tomorrow, your boss tells you that your new salary is $3600.00 per year. It is hard to live on $3600.00 a month. In 1957 that was the average salary per year. One family only could wish that they could make $3600.00 per year in 1957. The King family lived and worked on a farm in Richfield, located in South West Kansas. This family had to make do with the things they had. They could not go out and buy something new, even if they needed it. Gail King, mother and wife, did the gardening chores. Richard, father and husband, would drive a tractor to the house and try to plow a garden spot. Even though the garden was large, it was too small for a large tractor. There was a great need for a garden tractor. The answer was the Chicken Chaser.

It took Richard a year or two to gather the parts of scrap that he needed to build a garden tractor. One winter Christmas vacation the garden tractor was born. Between Christmas and New Year’s Day of 1957, along with Marie King, Richard’s shadow and five-year-old daughter went to the barn to build the garden tractor from just scrap parts. The garden tractor started with a Model "T" frame. This Model "T" was the same one that Richard’s in-laws used to move from Eastern Kansas to Southwest Kansas, in particular, Richfield. Other parts that were used like a transmission from a 1956 Dodge Pickup, a 1948 Model 23 Briggs and Stratton engine used as the power plant. Finally, the garden tractor was finished. Like most things, Richard’s kids wanted to drive the tractor. After the plowing of the garden was finished, the kids did get to drive the tractor. Richard would put the tractor in low gear and the kids would drive around the farm. With an ulterior motive, the kids had fun but learned to drive in the process.

One spring afternoon Marie was driving the tractor and Richard’s boss, J. D. Burkham, stopped by and was yelling at Marie and Richard as well. He was yelling, “Don’t chase the chickens with that chicken chaser!” The name stuck and the tractor known from then on as the chicken chaser.

Marie had a stubborn and mischievous nature about her. She was driving the chicken chaser one afternoon and Nelson, her brother, wanted to drive. He jumped on the back of the tractor frame and told Marie that he wanted to drive. His foot slipped and he fell behind the chicken chaser, which had a harrow hooked up. Nelson went under the harrow and Marie, Nelson, the chicken chaser, and harrow all were screaming and finally Richard came over and stopped the tractor. Marie told him not to let Nelson up until she was out of sight.

When we, Marie and I had our own kids, they learned to drive on the chicken chaser. Our kids wanted to go see Grandpa and Grandma every weekend. The whole weekend spare time, was driving the chicken chaser. We even used it to plow our own garden.

The chicken chaser made out of necessity. It lived out of love, and now it is setting in Kenneth’s barn awaiting some tender loving care for the next generation to learn to drive, and maybe even plow a garden or two.