Friday morning was overcast and a light rain was falling. But these weather conditions did not stop 974 antique tractors from crossing the Mackinac Bridge. The owners of these pieces of history had to be in their tractor seats at 8:15 to start the line up for the tractor parade through downtown Mackinaw City, over the Mighty Mac and finally ending up at the casino in St Ignace.
The sputtering of the engines was heard in our parking lot as the long line of tractors proceeded across the bridge. I could hear shouts of joy as cars and trucks passed the tractors on the bridge. Trucks would also blast their horns as a way of paying tribute to the tractors. It was a wonderful sound hearing everyone having such a good time.
Several types of tractors were here, some from Canada and Kentucky/Indiana clubs and everywhere in between. The first tractor drove onto the ramp heading toward the bridge at 9:00 and the last one drove into St Ignace at 12:45 p.m. People lined the streets of downtown Mackinaw City along the parade route and stayed until the very end.
For me the antique tractors are nostalgic .As a child I remember Mr Orlando, our neighbor, riding his tractor in the early morning sun.I can still hear the sputtering of his tractor as he moved along the rows in his field. Or how about those rides in the country, when you could look across the field and see all different kinds of tractors? These tractors represent America.
The Tractor parade is a fantastic event. Why not put it on your list of fall things to do next year.
I didn’t realize that I had taken a picture of a gorilla driving a tractor until it waved at me. Oh yea, Tweedy Bird was here too!