HOPEWELL TOWNSHIP: Tractors: First a hobby, now an occupation

By John Tredrea, Special Writer
   Ever since he was a youngster, Joe Vurgason’s friends have been calling him “Tractor Joe.”
   ”I’ve loved tractors, and loved to be around them, ever since I can remember,” Mr. Vurgason said recently in his shop.
   His shop is the home of Tractor Joe’s Service and Repairs, at 2349 Route 31, just north of I-95 in southern Hopewell Township. It’s there that he fixes and maintains tractors and other equipment.
   ”We fix anything here from mid-size farm equipment to two-stroke weed whackers to trailers to quads (all-terrain vehicles),” he said.
   Mr. Vurgason, 23, lives in Hopewell Township and graduated from Central High School in 2006. He’s been in the tractor repair business since 2005, first in a shop his father George helped him build at their home and now at the shop on Route 31. His mother Peggy does the bookkeeping for Tractor Joe’s.
   ”My folks have helped me out a lot,” he said.
   He also credits a local legendary Central High School teacher, Richard Estelow, with helping him a great deal. Mr. Estelow taught auto shop at the high school for over 40 years before retiring several years ago.
   ”Mr. Estelow let me work on tractors in his auto shop class,” Mr. Vurgason said. “He knew a lot about tractors. I learned a lot from him. He’s a great guy.”
   Mr. Vurgason’s obsession with tractors began at an early age. “My grandfather, Carmen DeForte, had a farm in Harbourton. I spent a lot of time with him. He had tractors and, if one broke down in the field, he fixed it. I’d help him out and he’d show me things. He taught me a lot.”
   Vintage tractors are a big thing with Tractor Joe, who recently got a tattoo that states “Tractor Joe . . . I’m on the go!”
   When he can find time, he works on restoring a 1949 Farmall Cub tractor his father gave him. Another project is a 1958 Massey-Ferguson.
   ”Years ago, tractors were really well made,” he said. “They were built to last. So they’re worth fixing.”
   Tractor Joe says it’s very rare for him to encounter a model of tractor he hasn’t worked on before. “All tractors are basically the same,” he said. “If I encounter a model I haven’t seen before, which almost never happens, I research it.”
   Asked what his hobby is, or what he likes to do with his free time, Tractor Joe replies with a smile and a shrug and gestures toward the tractors in his shop: “I like to be here,” he said. “I dedicate my life to my customers. This is what I love to do. It started as a hobby when I was a kid. Now it’s my occupation. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
   To find out more, go to www.tractor-joes.com or call 273-6377.