B.L. “Buck” Gandy, 87, is as healthy as the modified 1940 Farmall tractor he pulls in competition in North and South Carolina.
“I pulled it for five years and it ain’t been touched,” Buck said. “That tractor is a man of steel. We call it the ‘Cricket’ because it bumps and jumps around the ground when it’s pulling.”
By pulling, Buck means pulling a 35,000-pound sled in competition. He competes in the 5,700-, 6,000- and 6,200-pound classes. One pull usually lasts from two to three minutes. The winner is judged by how many feet the sled is pulled.
All the pulling is done in first gear. Buck competes in the superclass in the antique tractor division and usually hits 13 mph.
“I don’t see nothing but first place,” Buck said. “I finished in first place the first time I ever pulled. That made me feel real good.
“All the people I pull against are lots younger than me. They can’t stand for me to beat them.”
The tractors in pulling competitions have to be antique. Nothing above the model year 1966 can compete, Buck said.
Buck said in jest that the modified 1940 Farmall he pilots has a four-cylinder engine.
But that’s a gargantuan understatement.
The tractor is owned and was built by his stepson, Danny Ray Hogge Jr. Hogge is a perfectionist who has modified the engine to the max.
“I can’t tell you what all is in that engine,” Buck said. “I just know that it gets the job done, has never blown up and the competition would like to know what we got in it.”
And “getting the job done” might distort the facts a mite.
Buck at one time had close to 200 trophies for his pulling prowess. Most of those were for finishing first.
The pulling season is from March to November. Competitions are once a month in Pageland and Bethune in South Carolina and Albemarle and Mount Pleasant in North Carolina.
But it’s not all pulling for Buck, a native of Dovesville who spent the lion’s share of his life on a farm in Mont Clare.
“I’m as healthy as I am because I ain’t no couch potato,” Buck said. “I’ve got to be doing something. I’ve got to be on the go.”
Buck moved to Hartsville 18 years ago when he married for the second time. His wife, Martha, admits she can’t keep up with him.
They live on Martha’s 66-acre spread. He works in the yard and grows everything known to mankind in his garden. He’s especially proud of his butter beans.
Buck also raises chickens, guineas, Pekingese dogs and peacocks, all of whom live outside. A pampered Pomeranian named Mitsey rules the roost in the house.
Buck drives a 1997 Ford F-150 with close to 200,000 miles on it. Martha has moved on up. She drives a 2004 Cadillac.
Buck’s first pickup was a 1962 GMC that he purchased for $1,842 from Garland’s Garage in Darlington. The late J.E. Garland was one of the first GMC dealers in the Pee Dee.
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