All photos were taken from the seat of one of the tractors on the Drive.
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Morrow County Antique Tractor & Equipment Association, Inc.
Mount Gilead, Ohio
Questions can be directed to
Deb Osborne 419-864-1884
Despite the threat of rain, twelve antique tractors and that many more wagon riders and two tractor riders (one being a black lab named JD), left the Morrow County Soil and Water Conservation Park at 1:15 in the afternoon of Sunday, August 21st. This was the starting point for the Morrow County Antique Tractor & Equipment Association's Eighth Annual Tractor Drive.
There were several makes and models of tractors along for the Drive: a 1941 Farmall M, a 1948 Farmall M, a 1949 Farmall H, a 1953 Case SC, a 1953 Case SC, a 1948 John Deere A, a 1953 John Deere 50, a 1961 Ford 601, a 1979 Massey Ferguson 245, a 1957 Cockshutt, a 1948 Co Op E3, and a Doodlebug.
Before they even got started, there was a scramble to the trucks and wagon to take cover from the downpour that hit just 15 minutes before they were scheduled to leave. They waited out the rain and then took off north on Home Road. They were headed to the Countryside Restaurant about 14 miles away in Johnsville. They weren't done with the rain just yet, as they ran into another downpour about half-way there, but they continued on.
By the time they reached the Countryside Restaurant, they had pretty much dried out. They hopped off their tractors and the Association's Shuttle Wagon and went inside the Hersh's establishment to relax for a bit and enjoy some of the good food served there. After about an hour, they climbed back up on their tractors and into the wagon and headed back to Mt Gilead.
Along the way, traveling at about eight miles per hour, they were able to view some of the things we normally don't get to see when we're driving in a car or truck. A close-up view of the fields of corn and beans, a rain-pond in the middle of a wheat field full of Canadian Geese, and a pasture of goats were among some of the sights. There were horses, cows and dogs watching the tractors go by, as well as people waiving from their yards and their cars as they passed by.
The Drive took about four and a half hours, and even though all got wet, it was one of the rare opportunities in which members and friends of the Association get to just sit back, relax and enjoy their antique tractors. Many thanks to the crew as Hersh's Countryside Restaurant for staying open later than their usual Sunday hours to serve us.
