Each year the Mid-Michigan Old Gas Tractor Association puts on a show for people of all ages to enjoy. From the steam barn displays, to the garden tractor pullers, there is something for everyone. There are traditions in place and some still to be made. I always make sure to get my homemade vanilla ice cream from the local Amish and my baked potato with pulled pork and cheese on top! In addition, I am sure one of these days my husband will let me bring home a puppy from the petting barn:)
On Friday, the junior pullers get to show off how much they have practiced and create memories with their parents. The discussion of how to line up to the boat and the best way to watch the track are fueled with pride of wanting your child to learn and succeed.
During the evening, it is time for the older daughters and wives to not only show off the tractors, but show their dads and husbands how to really pull. From the sideline, young girls watch their mothers, patiently waiting for when they are old enough to pull the big tractors.
As the evening winds down, we go back to our campsites for a fire and a cold beer. Conversations over time have changed drastically the older we become. What once was "Someone stop Tim from driving his golf cart through the track", at 4:00 am, has now become "Where's Tim?.....Sleeping with the wife and baby" at 10:30 pm. Though the conversations may have changed, the friends and good memories grow on.
Come Saturday morning, we scarf down the pancake breakfast and begin prepping the little ones for the pedal pull. Young one's stand along the track anxiously waiting their turn at what is hopefully a full pull. The youngest of pullers are happy with their sucker as a reward, while the older children have learned the concept of winning and losing. It makes a parent proud to hear their child cry not because they lost, but because they felt they did not try their hardest.
The grounds quickly become alive after the pedal pull, as parade tractors are lining up and weigh-in begins for the Saturday dead-weight pulls. The steam engine sounds, the flag is raised and the national anthem is sung. Everyone disperses to what interests them or where the work needs to be done.
The Saturday pull brings on the purest of pullers; those who like to focus on the challenge and the physics of pulling. Old rivals meet up as friends to discuss the track condition, while old friends meet up as rivals to discuss the performance of new tractors.
By Sunday, the sense that summer is coming to a close is lingering in all our minds, as we prepare for the transfer sled pull. You can feel people trying to enjoy the moment knowing that, come Monday, real life and work begins again. As the State Championship trophies are awarded, people begin to disappear to load up their equipment and campers to head home.
As the last trophy is awarded, and the announcement booth is closed for yet another year, the discussion has already started about what will be done to the tractors for the following year.
Within the heart of this club, tractor pullers run deep, and as the new generation grows, I hope we can keep it this way.
