Days before Seat Belts

My father owned a limited amount of land in the Chelmsford and needed additional acreage for haying and raising corn for the 100 plus cows on the farm. He rented la nd in North Chelmsford to raise corn and in Tewksbury/Andover for haying. To reach the Tewksbury/Andover land he would drive the large hay trucks (which were never new or in very good condition) thru downtown Lowell and down Andover Street or by way of Route 495. Driving thru Lowell was a challenge as there were many stop lights and some were at hills. It took some driving talent to stop on a hill with the truck and start up again sometimes with the clutch slipping!!! The Cracker Barrel Restaurantnear the Rt 133 exit is now on the land. To pick up the hay one driver/adult was needed and many teenagers to pick up the hay. We would ride in the back of the empty truck on the way to the hayfield and on the return trip some would jam into the cab of the truck and the remainder would ride on the top of the load of hay!! As I wrote in a previous posting my father was a master at loading the hay. He would load the hay 5 or 6 layers above the side boards and never loose a load on the way home!! In the top 2 or 3 layers he would construct a spot for the reamining kids usually including me to ride for the trip home. Picture this: Large Old truck, loaded high with hay, travelling down Rt 495 and kids on TOP!!!! This was common in the mid 1960's.