Antique tractor pulls have been enjoyed by old tractor buffs for many years.  Nowadays, Tractor Drives, are becoming popular. In these events, vintage tractor enthusiasts drive their tractors for several miles.   Many of these drives run 80 to 100 miles or more and may include as many as four hundred tractors!  It is quite a sight, seeing a line of old tractors stretched out for more than a mile, trudging along single file down a country road!  It is hard to say who is enjoying the parade most; the drivers of these classic machines or the spectators who line the city streets and back roads to watch!

    

    Many of the tractors have been restored to like new condition but that is not necessary.    Basic requirements for most drives are; the tractor must have been manufatured in 1975 or before, have rubber tires and the ability to travel at least 7 miles per hour.  There are additional safety requirements for both tractor and driver.

    

     These drives are not contests to see who has the most powerful or best tractor.  They are merely an opportunity for tractor enthusiast to display their machines and show off our agricultural heritage for the rest of the world to see.  A glimpse of farming the way it used to be; before air conditioned cabs, 16 row planters and GPS guidance systems.  In a time when a day of eating dust, bouncing over rough ground and listening to the roar of the engine was a way of life.  These discomforts were offset by the smell of freshly tilled earth mixed with the sweet scents of spring; the sight of blackbirds trailing along behind, looking for worms in the fresh turned dirt; and of a hawk circling high overhead; the feeling of closeness to Mother Earth.  Things not so noticeable from a tractor cab with the air conditioner on and the radio blaring.

   This year's drive will be held Aug. 29, 2009 in the Auxvasse area.  We plan to leave the Auxvasse about 9:30 Saturday morning and go west.  From there we will arrive at the Hatton Community Hall around noon. 

     Your tractor should be able to travel at least 7 miles per hour, have a slow moving vehichle emblem attached, and be a 1973 or older without a modern cab. 

   Registration includes: the drive, a cap, lunch ticket.

Registration will be $30 for early registration or $40 the morning of the drive.

Profits go to support the programs of the Kingdom of Callaway Historical Society.

3rd Annual Callaway Vintage Tractor Drive

August 29, 2009   Auxvasse, MO

Sponsored by the Kingdom of Callaway Historical Society