Bob Bartlett: the ‘tractor man’ of Maine

Houlton Pioneer Times photo/Joseph Cyr
TRACTORS GALORE — The Bartlett family traditionally enters a large number of antique tractors in the Houlton Fourth of July parade.
By Karen Donato
Special to the Pioneer Times
    LITTLETON — Bob Bartlett of Littleton just may be the ‘Tractor Man’ of the state. His collection includes a combination of 28 completely restored Massey-Harris & Massey-Ferguson tractors and 22 machines waiting to be brought back to life.
    A farm boy through and through, Bartlett got his first taste of real farming back in 1958 as a 17-year-old senior at Houlton High School and didn’t know the meaning of, “You can’t do that.”
    At that time, Bartlett convinced a prominent businessman in Houlton to back him for 40 acres of potatoes. His grandfather helped him plant during the day and the young teenager harrowed the fields half the night to ready them for planting the next day. He recalled missing a lot of school that spring, but got his diploma and headed to a career in farming that continues today, more than 50 years later.
    It was from that young age that he got hooked on farming and of course, you can’t farm without a tractor or two. His first one was an old International Farmall H that had been passed down from his grandfather, Fred and father, Arnold.
    Bartlett said that he loved that Farmall H, but that fall he bought a roto-beater for chopping potato tops and the old H did not have enough power to haul it. Bartlett’s father had a good friend, Freddie McBride, who had just purchased a new Massey-Harris 333 tractor. McBride offered his 333 to Bartlett for the roto-beater.
    “I thought I had the world by the tail, sitting on that new tractor,” said Bartlett.
    He later acquired a Farmall M that had more power, so he didn’t need to rely on someone else’s tractor.
    In the early ‘60s his former father-in-law, Cecil Benn of Houlton bought a new Massey-Ferguson 65 gas, but didn’t really like it. He offered it to Bartlett and told him to pay when he could. He later purchased a Massey-Ferguson 65 diesel.
    Finally, in 1969 Bartlett decided he wanted a brand new International 856. He tried to trade his Massey-Ferguson 65 gas and the 65 diesel for the 856, but couldn’t strike up a deal. Bartlett then went to W.C. Varney & Sons, the Massey-Ferguson dealer in Houlton and traded both tractors along with $2,200 cash to become the owner of a Massey-Harris 1100, which he still owns today. It has 8,000 hours on it and the motor has not been touched.
    From that time on he stayed with the Varney family, largely due to their service and Walter Varney’s son Hillis, who Bartlett said came through for him in a time of need.
Houlton Pioneer Times Photo by Karen Donato
FAMILY TIME — Collecting tractors is a passion of potato farmer, Bob Bartlett of Littleton. He shares his love of the machines with many of his family members including daughter, Heather Quimby of Brooks who often participates with him in local parades or Antique Tractor Club excursions.
    “Several years after purchasing the tractor,” said Bartlett, “we had a bad summer and I was behind in cultivating and hoeing. The steering mechanism wasn’t working on the tractor and I called Hillis late one night and told him about my problem. Hillis asked me when I needed it and I told him, by daylight.”
    When Bartlett went to the field the next morning, the tractor was fixed and he’s been a Massey-Ferguson customer ever since.
    In 1999 Bartlett turned the everyday farming operations over to his son, David. Through the years they planted up to 360 acres and today, average about 250 acres of seed potatoes. Bartlett now has the job of marketing the crop, while his son takes care of the day-to-day operation. Although he does admit that along with his marketing job, he still plants and harvests the crop.
    Bartlett’s out of the house by 5 a.m. during the spring planting season and harvesting in the fall and not home until 7:30 or 8 p.m., according to his wife, Jane.
    When asked how he became a collector of tractors he said that it started in 2007 with the idea of restoring a Massey-Harris 333 like the one borrowed from McBride back in 1958.
    “Jane and I were driving around neighboring New Brunswick one Sunday when I spied a 333 parked in a yard, so I stopped and talked to the owner. I asked him if he was interested in selling it and the price was right, so my collection began.” said Bartlett.
    Now, the oldest one that is restored is a 1944 Massey-Harris 101 Senior and the newest one is a 1963 Massey-Ferguson, Model 97. He has a 1938 Massey-Harris Challenger just waiting for its’ turn.
    As the number of tractors has grown, so has the need for a space to house them. When he decided to restore his first tractor, Bob built a 32-foot by 70-foot garage near his potato storage in Littleton and knew right away it wasn’t going to be big enough. The next year he added another 32- by 70-foot addition on the side. Then in 2010, he built a 64- by 16-foot piece on the back. The structure houses a display area, a paint room and a sand blasting space. Bartlett cleans the tractors and prepares them himself for the next step, then Randy Cole, a former employee, does the sanding and painting. Cole started working on Bartlett’s farm in the early ‘70s when he was just 14 years old. Now, he works for the State Highway Department during the day and spends evenings and weekends at the Bartlett shop. He uses the auto body training he received in high school and his work at a local auto body shop to give the finishing touches to Bartlett’s fleet.
    Bartlett’s tractors come from all over the United States and parts of Canada and although he’s not looking for more he admits he’s especially tempted when he comes across a particular model that he doesn’t have.
    He and his wife are partners in their love for this hobby. Bartlett thinks that’s important. They have not only enjoyed acquiring the tractors, but now enjoy taking a couple of dozen tractors to local parades and fairs from one end of Aroostook County to the other. They enlist friends and members of their family to drive them.
    Bartlett, also the father of four daughters, Janet Sargent, Jennifer Gogan, Heather Quimby and Angela Graham often gathers up many of his 20 grandchildren and includes them with some tractors that travel the parade route on a flat-bed and will add three great-grandchildren to the mix in the future.
    So, if you’re a tractor kind of person and you’d like to see a beautiful sight of pristine red and yellow tractors, give him a call. I bet he just might show you around. And if you have a question about this brand of tractor, he is a wealth of information.
    Bartlett can be reached at 538-9297 or by e-mail: bartlettfarms @pwless.net