Sometime in the spring of 1958, while living in Cleveland , Ohio, my Great Uncle Paul purchased a brand new 1958 Farmall Cub. While working at Armco Steel in 1963 my Grandfather Mike Zemba purchased the tractor from his brother. My Dad Paul Zemba, at the age of 15, rode with a steel hauler who had becomes friends with my grandfather at work on a steel run to Cleveland and back. While on the run they picked up the Cub and delivered it back to Zanesville on the back haul. Grandpa used the tractor on his property from 1963 to 1983. In 1983 my parents moved across the road from Grandma and Grandpa and at the age of 70 Grandpa was unable to safely operate the Cub so Dad started using it to maintain their property as well as his and Mom’s 10 acres. Over the next 9 years it was well used on the property. I recall mowing Our grass with it from time to time during my teenage years. In 1993 Dad had major engine work completed with parts and some service completed by Ross Agri Mechanics and some he completed himself. Around 1996 Mom and Dad moved to a home with less property on Boggs Road and the Cub sat in Grandpa’s barn virtually unused until 2013. In 2013 Our Team at Champion respectfully completely restored the Cub to a show room quality and surprised Dad in March of 2014. The Champion Team now puts the Cub in some of the parades around Our area. It is with great pride for my Grandfather and the life lessons he taught to "keep the Cub purring”.
Ace's history is best told by the 3 daughters of the original owner. We will continue to update our site as the restoration images and stores roll in.
( 1 of 3 ) Through the eye's of "ACE" ~ Pam W.
Amy gave me your contact to send to you our memories about that ol’tractor we fondly remember as “Ace”. This request truly made me laugh. That crazy ol’tractor was the bain of my high school summer days. Ugh….
Specifically, during the summer, we had to do our “chores” before we could do what we wanted, which meant: going to Northside Beach or tanning in the back yard on a reflective foil sheet. OH NO. We had to mow the yard and the neighbor’s yard. This sounds like a quick job using a tractor, but my dad’s rule was that we could not mow any faster than second gear, and half throttled. WHAT!! This will take forever! To solve the this problem, I would wear my bikini, slicking up with tanning oiling, placing our beach towel on the seat (it was metal and HOT!) then would proceed mowing the hundreds of thousands of laps (or so it seemed like).
This brilliant plan accomplished both the tanning time in while mowing. To get that even-all-over glow, I would have to drive the tractor with my arms and legs out straight, kinda like the Frankenstein monster, and lean back not to shade my stomach. This seemed well and good until the muffler would become heated and pieces of the paint (?) would chip off and blow back onto my oil-slicked body. OUCH! Ouch ouch ~ repeatedly. When I was done I would have an uneven tan, 3rd degree burn marks (I’m sure I am not exaggerating) where the muffler chips hit me and my back side white and untanned. I never thought of my back side getting tanned. Duh… That Rosecrans education was not worth the money spent on me.
I did this many times, until … I had a big ah-ha moment when I put on my binki and this time put the tractor in 3rd, and I can now honestly confess, since dad has died, !4th! gear and drove that tractor as fast as I could stay bouncing in my seating. SUCCESS. Mowing done, now time to lay-out and tan.
I hope you enjoy the Ace as much as we have.
( 2 of 3 ) Through the eye's of "ACE" ~ Amy M.
The one thing I remember about 'Ace' was Patty and I got it stuck in the mud in the woods. I have no idea what we were doing in the woods but... by the time we had to get my Dad involved we were both covered head to toe in mud!! So was poor 'Ace'.
I remember getting up on Saturday morning, putting on my bikini and heading out to start my chore of mowing the grass (and dirt spots too). Of course it would take a better part of the day because my Dad would only let us mow in first gear! UGGG!! By the end of the day I was covered in dirt and grass and smelled of gasoline and exhaust!! You gotta love summer!!
Thanks for taking in 'Ace' and bringing it back to life!
After major surgery on ACE we have come to the diagnosis that some of his body parts/organs are not usable, so we found Ace a girlfriend. We found her in Galion, OH. and brought her home. We are in the process of “ mixing parts “ to give us a new and improved ACE. We will update our site through the process and are excited to give everyone involved a finished project and a new ACE.
