Picture-perfect day in Bluffton HERE.
By Paula Scott
Icon editor
Sometimes the job of reporting for the Icon takes me out of my comfort zone. A case in point: the annual antique tractor show at Maple Crest which is a special feature of the Bluffton Fall Festival. The closest I’ve come to a tractor is an occasional hayride and the fact that my dad worked for Massey Ferguson in Detroit for most of my childhood.
But as it turned out, talking with tractor and antique farm implement owners was the highlight of my day on September 23. Del Gratz, who brought a rare Bluffton-made buckrake to the event, told me that this was more a social event than anything else. It was certainly true that folks were more than happy to chat, even with the uninitiated.
I spoke with the owner of a 1960s-era tractor who told the story of surviving a crash with a car. He pointed to the restored tractor, noting that the driver approached as he was turning into a field. The car crashed into and cracked the huge rear wheel. The farmer still marvels that he managed to stay on.
Another family brought a variety of small implements, including a lawn mower, lanterns and one-stroke gas engines that could even be used to power early laundry machines in the days before electrical service. We chatted about how our push-button existence differs from that of our grandparents and great grandparents.
Many of the tractors at the show were from the 1930s and ‘40s. Show coordinator T.R. Steiner told me that 63 tractors, 18 engines and 10 implements were entered in the show. The oldest tractor was a 1915 La Crosse Happy Farmer. To my disappointment, there was only one Massey Ferguson.
I never made it to Maple Crest’s kiddie tractor pull or fishing derby. I was on a tight schedule to visit Bluffton Hospital and NWO Orthopedics & Sports Medicine, as well as the Schumacher Homestead. My photos include the rest of this day, which was sunny, mild and a great celebration of the first day of fall.
