OUR PICTURES FROM...
CROTON, OHIO
Invasion of the Red Horde: Hartford Fair Parade line up for 1998. In the line are Bill's 400, Dad's M, Bill's Super M, and the F-20.
Hartford Fair Parade 2003: The F-20 is loaded down with Nancy's husband, Dean, and kids, Sam and Maddie. Close behind are sisters, Peggy (Super M), and Nancy (400). This was Dean's first time ever driving a tractor. He's hooked!
Right: Andrea on the Cub, Fair Parade 2000. The Cub is pulling Club member Gary Shannon's 1907 Reid stationary engine. The Parade is run on the Fair's race track. The combination of the very heavy Reid engine and race track pitch made the uphill wheel of the Cub spin out with just Andrea aboard. For the Parade, John Shannon and Mike stood on the Cub's drawbar for the needed traction.
Joe's daughter, Andrea, graduated from the Cub Lo-Boy to the 460 for the 2003 Hartford Fair Parade. She's fourteen, but Joe was still a bit concerned about her on the larger tractor. Joe's forgotten that Dad had HIM doing all kinds of stuff when he was younger than Andrea, unsupervised, and on a mighty hard-to-handle JD 60--no power steering and no live PTO. The 2003 Fair experienced incessant rain, and the 460 was used to prowl the muddy parking lots providing pull-out services for stuck fairgoers and exhibitors, hence the presence of mud on the tires in this pic.
For the kids in the family, the Parade is the ultimate 'HEY, LOOK AT ME' event. They get to show off to their less fortunate Fair buddies that don't have the chance to drive in the Parade. Niece, Kirsten, aboard the 460.
The Hartford Fair Parade closes out a busy Fair week for the tractors. By this time, several gallons of fuel have been run through dozens of Club tractors as they assist the pro tractor pullers on Tuesday, do 'rescue' for the Rough Truck Contest, provide motive power for the shuttles, and when the rains come, provide 24/7 vehicle pull-out service. Mike and the F-20, Fair Parade 2000.
After the 2003 pre-Parade mission briefing, we all pose for a shot. Front row L-R: Mike's son, Jake; Mom; Nancy's daughter, Maddie; Nancy's son, Sam; and Joe's wife, Cara. Second row L-R: sisters Peggy and Nancy; Nancy's son, Peter; Joe's daughter, Andrea. Back row L-R: Nancy's husband, Dean; Mike; and Joe. Andrea filched Joe's IH hat and wore it for most of the Fair week.
Right: Dad with his 1926 Farmall Regular, Fair Parade 2000.
The post-Hartford Fair laundry line. Mom had the washer running full tilt to rid our clothes of six days' worth of mud, manure, butch wax, and sheep dip. This picture is likely from the early seventies when four of us kids were all showing livestock at the time. Note the bell-bottom jeans--ah, the good old days!
Above: Getting ready to head for the 2003 Fair. Fred is booming down the load and doing a walkdown of the straps prior to hooking up the semi tractor to the trailer. With Fred's trucking expertise and the use of the semi rig from Joe's employer, hauling 9 tractors to the Fair was a breeze. We turned a few heads when we entered the Fair gate with all this RED IRON on board a matched color trailer. Note the IH sign on Mike's shop.
At left the F-20 is belted to Brad Fraley's thresher. This is an annual Club activity and is sure to attract a throng of old-timers reminiscing about their childhood. Brad is 'Mr. Do-All' for the Club. He hauls the usual complement of tractors and stationary equipment to all the Club events. The F-20 handles this thresher quite well although a few closely spaced slugs dropping into the cylinder will make her bark. The F-20 is Mike's favorite.
Right: Joe is spiffing up Bill's Super M prior to assembling for the Parade. The campaign sign belongs to Dad's cousin who was successfully elected to the Ohio State House later that year. We attached his signs to all of our tractors for that year's Parade. With six 'campaign tractors' passing the Grandstand in succession, we take credit for putting him in the Ohio House in November.
Pit Crew! Bill and Joe are fueled-up and ready to tow the pro tractor pullers from the pits to the scales and then on to the pull staging area. This is just one of many activities the Tractor Club participates in at the Hartford Fair. Working the Tractor Pull is a blast! More often than not, the pullers have their favorite 'tow guys' and insist on having them every year. The Super Modified Class pullers (recognizable tractor brand paint and sheet metal, but that's about all!) often prefer their favorite brand of tractor tow them. The Hartford Fair Pull is rated #1 by the Ohio State Tractor Pullers Association, in part due to the very skillful assistance provided by the Land of Legend Antique Tractor Club.