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W
e e k l y F
e a t u r e P a g e
Links to archived past pages on lower left
The contents of the “Weekly Feature” page are provided
to you for your entertainment, amusement, and perhaps information.
Here you may find articles of interest, pictures, historical information
on the Club, or whatever shuffles to the top of the pile on our
desk. The only defined characteristic of this space is that we
will make every effort to change/replace it around the middle of
each week. Thank you for visiting, and please stop by again. Click
on any photo to see it larger in a separate window. |
The Bridge
I can’t think of many events in our hobby that
have generated more buzz in their aftermath than the September 12th
inaugural Mackinaw
Bridge Crossing. Someone else in response to a post on one of the other
hobby related websites made an observation that I had noticed myself,
even after 4+ hours sitting on their tractor seat in the wind, almost
every participant was still grinning broadly as they passed us near
the end of the parade. You could honestly see it on their faces, just
how much they had enjoyed this very unique event.
As with anything untried and untested, there was
some skepticism in advance, and I’m sure there are some things that could have been
changed to improve the execution, but none of that seemed to detract
from the final result, which was a great show for those who watched,
and a truly unique experience for those who participated. I suspect
the two local communities underestimated just how much interest there
would be in an event that probably sounds rather obscure to an outsider,
but now they know. In a small town like either Mackinaw City or St
Ignace, it’s pretty hard to ignore the presence of over 500 antique
tractors, their owners, and their families.
Most of us have visited those popular locations as
tourists in the past, and have always done so in the company of many
others who were
on vacation, sight-seeing, etc. The whole thing takes on a different
flavor when you’re in the company of fellow tractor enthusiasts,
and we all felt very much at home with the differences. When you add
a bunch of truckers to the mix, all of whom were in town for the big
Show Truck Expo and Bridge Crossing, it made for an entertaining mix
not often seen in tourist towns.
I have been to countless tractor pulls, many tractor
shows, and a fair bunch of parades over the years, and can’t
recall ever seeing an event that generated more excitement, enthusiasm,
and camaraderie
among the hobby community. This was something new and different. For
that we all owe a very big debt of gratitude to Bob Baumgrass from
Owosso Tractor Parts, the Mackinaw Bridge Authority, and all the others
who worked and organized to make this event possible for us all to
enjoy.
For all who were there to witness the spectacle and
for those who may have missed it, we offer the following series of
photos from a weekend
to remember:
(Click individual photos to enlarge)
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