It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that males — little boys, teenagers, dads and even old, wrinkled grandpas — like tractors.
Big red tractors.
Little yellow tractors.
Ancient, coal-black beasts which belch dark smoke and move slowly, like dinosaurs.
Or the new bright, shiny green and yellow ones which zip across the dirt.
Yeah, guys like tractors.
In fact, some farmers say — jokingly — that the love of tractors is genetic.
At least in Cleveland County.
So it should come as no surprise that the county’s fourth annual Pioneer Expo drew huge crowds, square dancers, rain and food.
And tractors.
“I believe we had between 8,000 and 10,000 people,” said Wayne McPherson, president of the Cleveland County Fair Board. “It was a great event. We had a nice crowd.”
Two-year-old Charlie Kidder would agree.
Charlie — wearing a floppy, multi-colored hat — his mom and his dad, Chad, spent a good portion of their Saturday at the expo.
“Charlie loves tractors,” his dad said. “This morning we went to the farmer’s market and I had to promise him we’d come back so he could sit on a tractor.”
True to his word, Charlie’s dad found him a tall, red tractor — owned by a friend — where Charlie could pretend.
Charlie was happy.
“He’s content,” his dad said. “He loves it.”
Across from the tractors, and near the fairgrounds building, members of the Central Oklahoma Square Dancing Association performed for a crowd nestled under several brightly colored umbrellas.
This time the umbrellas blocked the sun.
“It’s hot,” said 15-year-old Sydney Wallace, a member of the square dancing troop. “It’s a lot of work to dance.”
Dressed in a frilly pink outfit with bubble gum and braces, Wallace and her boyfriend, Joseph Franches, were two of the many dancers who performed. And while Franches didn’t look like the typical square dancer, he had special reasons for participating.
“She got me into it,” he said, throwing a sly glance Sydney’s way.
“I told him if he wants to be my boyfriend then he’s gotta’ dance,” she said.
Joseph danced.
Yet even with the food — it’s nice to know you can get a funnel cake even when the fair’s not open — the sun, and the square dancing girls, the real draw of the day was the tractors.
Lined up in rows, the selection would have impressed any farm implement salesman.
“There are some real expensive ones here,” McPherson said. “It’s gotten bigger every year.”
Representing many decades and even several countries, some of the machines, he said, are valued in the $20,000 to $30,000 range.
“Men like machines, mechanical things,” McPherson said. “And, besides, it’s a cheaper hobby than restoring cars.”
And it’s a hobby that Wayne resident Glen Madden is wanting to try.
Madden, who’s new to the tractor world, climbed into the seat of his 1950 Farmall and turned a switch, and the big machine’s engine rumbled to life.
“The tractor’s been having problems with gas,” he said. “I think it’s got some water in it.”
Gas problems or not, Madden coaxed the Farmall forward to get in position for the tractor pull, the last event of the day.
“This is my first year,” he said. “I’m gonna’ try it and see how I do.”
He faced some stiff competition.
In the first category — the 1,000 pound standard — it wasn’t a seasoned veteran, or a professional farmer that captured the win.
It was, instead, a small, 8-year-old boy in tennis shoes and a yellow John Deer T-shirt.
Briarwood Elementary student Cameron McElrath won the category driving his John Deer tractor.
Cameron also won first in the 1,000-pound modified division.
“It’s fun,” the boy said. “It’s better than driving a bike.”
Across the lawn another little boy would agree.
As the crowds waited for the next tractor pull, little Charlie Kidder — with his parents in tow — had spied what he was looking for.
With motors rumbling in the background, his tiny hand reached to touch the side of a huge, black steam-powered tractor which stood like a sentinel next to the fairground building.
Proof, once again, that tractors and little boys — of all ages — have been friends for a long, long time.
Big red tractors.
Little yellow tractors.
Ancient, coal-black beasts which belch dark smoke and move slowly, like dinosaurs.
Or the new bright, shiny green and yellow ones which zip across the dirt.
Yeah, guys like tractors.
In fact, some farmers say — jokingly — that the love of tractors is genetic.
At least in Cleveland County.
So it should come as no surprise that the county’s fourth annual Pioneer Expo drew huge crowds, square dancers, rain and food.
And tractors.
“I believe we had between 8,000 and 10,000 people,” said Wayne McPherson, president of the Cleveland County Fair Board. “It was a great event. We had a nice crowd.”
Two-year-old Charlie Kidder would agree.
Charlie — wearing a floppy, multi-colored hat — his mom and his dad, Chad, spent a good portion of their Saturday at the expo.
“Charlie loves tractors,” his dad said. “This morning we went to the farmer’s market and I had to promise him we’d come back so he could sit on a tractor.”
True to his word, Charlie’s dad found him a tall, red tractor — owned by a friend — where Charlie could pretend.
Charlie was happy.
“He’s content,” his dad said. “He loves it.”
Across from the tractors, and near the fairgrounds building, members of the Central Oklahoma Square Dancing Association performed for a crowd nestled under several brightly colored umbrellas.
This time the umbrellas blocked the sun.
“It’s hot,” said 15-year-old Sydney Wallace, a member of the square dancing troop. “It’s a lot of work to dance.”
Dressed in a frilly pink outfit with bubble gum and braces, Wallace and her boyfriend, Joseph Franches, were two of the many dancers who performed. And while Franches didn’t look like the typical square dancer, he had special reasons for participating.
“She got me into it,” he said, throwing a sly glance Sydney’s way.
“I told him if he wants to be my boyfriend then he’s gotta’ dance,” she said.
Joseph danced.
Yet even with the food — it’s nice to know you can get a funnel cake even when the fair’s not open — the sun, and the square dancing girls, the real draw of the day was the tractors.
Lined up in rows, the selection would have impressed any farm implement salesman.
“There are some real expensive ones here,” McPherson said. “It’s gotten bigger every year.”
Representing many decades and even several countries, some of the machines, he said, are valued in the $20,000 to $30,000 range.
“Men like machines, mechanical things,” McPherson said. “And, besides, it’s a cheaper hobby than restoring cars.”
And it’s a hobby that Wayne resident Glen Madden is wanting to try.
Madden, who’s new to the tractor world, climbed into the seat of his 1950 Farmall and turned a switch, and the big machine’s engine rumbled to life.
“The tractor’s been having problems with gas,” he said. “I think it’s got some water in it.”
Gas problems or not, Madden coaxed the Farmall forward to get in position for the tractor pull, the last event of the day.
“This is my first year,” he said. “I’m gonna’ try it and see how I do.”
He faced some stiff competition.
In the first category — the 1,000 pound standard — it wasn’t a seasoned veteran, or a professional farmer that captured the win.
It was, instead, a small, 8-year-old boy in tennis shoes and a yellow John Deer T-shirt.
Briarwood Elementary student Cameron McElrath won the category driving his John Deer tractor.
Cameron also won first in the 1,000-pound modified division.
“It’s fun,” the boy said. “It’s better than driving a bike.”
Across the lawn another little boy would agree.
As the crowds waited for the next tractor pull, little Charlie Kidder — with his parents in tow — had spied what he was looking for.
With motors rumbling in the background, his tiny hand reached to touch the side of a huge, black steam-powered tractor which stood like a sentinel next to the fairground building.
Proof, once again, that tractors and little boys — of all ages — have been friends for a long, long time.
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