All Logan McDonald wanted for Christmas was money.

He had big plans for it, too. Plans that didn't include games, or toys or candy. This 14-year-old wanted a tractor to restore.

And not just any tractor either, but a Co-Op model, like his grandfather's.

His grandfather, Jack McDonald of Silver Lake, has his father's 1951 Co-Op with all original parts.

Jack's Co-Op belonged to his father, Sampson McDonald. His father lived down by Lapel in Hamilton County. The tractor was used at the 1951 Indiana State Fair to ferry people around on wagons. It was sold as a demonstrator model at the Noblesville Farm Bureau Co-Op following the state fair.

Jack's '51 sits beside Logan's '48 at the Kosciusko County 4-H and Community Fair. It is this year's American Heritage Grand Champion exhibit.

Logan planned to restore an antique tractor a couple of years ago. He began asking for money instead of presents for his birthday and other holidays, according to his mother, Marilyn.

Logan, 14, has a paternal twin brother, Ethan. They're the sons of Trent and Marilyn McDonald who live southwest of Silver Lake. Jack lives five miles away.

A friend from church heard about Logan's search. He knew where an old tractor was sitting in a field.

To the McDonalds' surprise, it was a neglected 1948 Co-op.

"Logan has been taking apart and reassembling engines since Jack gave him a lawn mower when he was 11," Marilyn said. "He's used all his own money to buy his tractor, saving it from birthday and Christmas gifts."

The McDonalds "wheeled and dealed" with the Co-Op's former owner and purchased it for $750.

"He just used it to make paths in his woods," Logan said. "We had to replace one tire because the calcium chloride had leaked out. The radiator cap was missing. The body didn't look too good. There were not dents, it was just really rusty."

Calcium chloride was mixed with water and put into tractor inner tubes for added weight at one time.

Jack had the liquid in his '51 tires removed last year as a safety precaution. The inner tubes were refilled with air. About once a year he starts the old model, drives it around the yard, and puts it away.

"The tires are in really good shape for being 50-plus years old," he said. "These old tractors just sit around. And if they get a leak in the tube and it gets on the rim, the calcium will eat metal like anything."

Jack said his grandson is a natural mechanic.

"For his age, Logan does real good. He's not afraid to get his hands dirty and really get into it. He's always tinkering with things."

The youngster is a great help around Jack's place, too. Although the older McDonald doesn't sow crops any more, there are still plenty of chores with the cattle he keeps. Over the years he's farmed and had cattle, pigs, cats, donkeys, ducks, horses, chickens, "you name it."

For the 4-H project, Logan replaced the power take-off shaft, rear tire rims and the front pedestal. The rust has been removed. The body still needs paint. A detailed list of the work is in a binder at the American Heritage exhibit area on the northwest side of the fairgrounds.

Jack allows that he helped out with the '48 every once in a while.

His daughter-in-law said he's left an exhaust pipe when Logan didn't have the money. A battery and other parts for the old Co-Op have been left on the door step over the last two years.

Parts are available for vintage tractors at a Mishawaka salvage yard.

Physically, Logan resembles Jack. He loves to farm, his mother said, and he loves animals, too, like his grandfather.

Logan allows that he would like to be a mechanic when he grows up. He'll enter Warsaw Community High School as a freshman this fall. [[In-content Ad]]