Area farmers take a step back in time
Faeth was displaying a shiny 1949 Farmall Cub tractor - a Christmas present from his children."I had a tractor, and my kids stole it from me, and they gave it back to me at Christmastime all painted up. It's ready to go as a show tractor," he said with a grin.
The atmosphere of the show was as laid back as the men who organized it. Tractor owners with beers in their hands and smiles on their faces chatted each other up about everything under the sun, including the steel beasts they brought with them.
Intermittent rain showers kept a few tractor owners at home, but attendance was about what everyone expected. It takes more than a few drops of rain to scare away a farm boy.
"There's nothing better than getting all your buddies together," Hurt said. "There's nothing more Americana than old tractors."
According to Augusta resident Jeff Sapp, who did most of the restoration work on Hurt's Minneapolis Moline Model R, there are only a few hundred of the
TRACTOR HEAVEN
Tractors aren't just for plowing. They're machines with power and can be a lot of fun.
People even compete with them. And just like Major League Baseball, April marks the beginning of the tractor pulling season.
It will be a busy year for the Buffalo Valley Antique Machinery Association. For the members, tractor pulling is a year-round activity and a sport that can be held whether it's raining and muddy, cold, warm or sunny.
The official season runs through November and includes a three-day October show and pull.
The association had 68 tractors participate in its annual New Year's Day pull this year, with all events happening at its track just off Route 15 two miles north of Lewisburg.
Some of the pullers come in from quite a distance. "We get people that come from Maryland, New York, from around Lancaster County," said Janet Mincemoyer, of Watsontown, association secretary.
Tractor pulling is a popular recreational activity. The Buffalo Valley association has about 200 members who get together for weekly work days to maintain the grounds and work on projects.
