36 antique tractor lovers left Avoca, Iowa at 9 a.m. on Saturday, July 25, 2009 and began driving towards Carstens Farm where they were joined by 3 other tractors, making a total of 39 tractors for the ride. Leading the parade of tractors was Wayne Krohn, organizer of the tractor ride.Not far behind was a line of tractors which made their way along Tamarack Road (old Highway 83), taking just 30 minutes to arrive at Carstens Farm.
Ranging from Allis-Chalmers, Farmall, International, John Deere, Massey Harris and Oliver, the array of tractors made for an interesting and colorful parade.The tractors varied in age, size, make, model and paint, but each was driven by a tractor lover who proudly bragged about who had the best tractor.
It is great fun watching the tractors arrive at the Farm.Listening to the guys brag and tease each other is even more fun.They prove that the old saying “Boys never grow up.” is true.The pride and enthusiasm for these tractors is infectious to all who witnessed the ride.
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Bob Scott, a staunch John Deere guy, took a little ribbing about driving an Allis-Chalmers which he’d recently acquired. When asked why he was driving an orange tractor, he said he “felt sorry for it. I like to pretend this is just a really an old John Deere….with a really bad paint job!”
Dave Kardell drove his John Deere 620 with grandson, Matthew, riding along.
When asked what Matthew thought of the ride, he proudly said “It’s a lot of fun. This is great, but this is not my first time.”Apparently, he’s an old hat at this.
After about an hour’s stop at the Farm for coffee and donuts, the riders got back on their tractors and headed towards Oakland where they stopped for lunch. The tractors then made their way back to Hancock on the gravel river road.After enjoying ice cream at Hancock, they arrived back in Avoca at 3:30.
July 18, 2009 - Northwest Iowa 2-Cylinder Club
On July 18, 2009, 23 members of the Northwest Iowa Two-Cylinder Club made their way to Carstens Farm.
This club has over 200 members who mostly live within 100 miles of Spencer, Iowa, including some from southwest Minnesota, southeast South Dakota and northeast Nebraska, and is limited to those who own John Deere tractors.
Many of the members arrived in the area the night before and bedded their tractors down at Dwight Zimmerman’s farm near Harlan, Iowa.The next morning, their route took them to Portsmouth, Persia and Minden before arriving at Carstens Farm for lunch.When asked what they thought of the area, a few admitted that they had no idea where they were at times during the drive.Of course, being men, they didn’t stop to ask for directions either, but they were having a good time.
From Carstens Farm, they traveled to Avoca to visit Farmall-Land USA tractor museum before going back to Harlan. Our thanks to Gerald Zimmerman for organizing the trip to the Farm.
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Carstens 1880 Farmstead, Inc. PO Box 302 • Shelby, IA 51570 (712) 544-2341 www.carstensfarm.com
