In the Aug. 10, 1970, issue of the Daily News, Mrs. Susie Taylor’s tractor saved itself from the Simpson County barn where it was housed after the barn caught fire.

Firefighters said the heat from the blaze caused a short in the tractor’s wiring that activated the starter. Luckily, the tractor’s gear shift was in reverse, causing it to back through a closed door, only stopping when it hit a post in the barnyard outside. The barn was devastated, but the tractor escaped with only minor damage.

– “Way Back When in Warren County” is compiled by researchers at the Warren County Public Library and appears twice weekly in the Bowling Green Daily News. For more information about the library, visit warrenpl.org.