By DEBORAH BEHRENDS
Illinois Correspondent

MORRIS, Ill. — Aside from appreciating the scenery, participants in the sixth annual Heritage Tractor Adventure June 9-13 helped each other out, had a whole lot of fun and shared a few tall tales.

“When you participate in the (Heritage Corridor Convention and Visitors Bureau) Tractor Adventure, you end up with more friends than you started with,” said longtime supporter Max Armstrong of Chicago’s WGN Radio 720.

He said HCCVB participants “give me better hands-on information on what’s happening with crops and farmers,” adding that he starts getting excited about the event when the first of June rolls around and weather warms up.

The event had its inaugural run in 2002, with 129 vintage tractors from six states.

Armstrong participated on the Farmall Super H that belonged to his parents. He purchased it at a family auction 12 years ago – it had belonged to his family while they lived on a farm in southern Indiana.

Meeting people from all walks of life is one of the things that makes the adventure so much fun. “You can meet anyone, from a physician to a police officer, along the ride,” he said.

Among the more than 320 participants this year from 14 states was 90-year-young George Becker of Peotone, Ill., on his 1952 Farmall H. Along with the new friends Becker made, he participated alongside his nephew, his brother and his son-in-law.

After a 40-year career in a steel mill, Becker has been working on a farm for the past 20 years and doesn’t plan to quit anytime soon. He joined the Adventure five years ago when his children bought him a tractor for his 85th birthday.

“The best part of the whole thing is seeing the water and trees that create the look of a canopy as you drive along. I love to be out in the country,” he said.

After finishing up registration June 10, a large number of tractors took a drive out to the Dollinger Family Farm near Channahon for tractor games sponsored by the Central Illinois Green Club. The games were a great opportunity to look over the other tractors and just have a little fun.

The chain drag is one such game; the driver has to get a chain into the box drawn on the ground in the shortest time possible. Other games included the egg-and-spoon relay and a blind obstacle course that participants had to navigate by voice commands, while blindfolded.

June 11 was spent driving from Morris to Ottawa and stopping for the night in Peru. The next day, the drivers went from Peru to Mendota, and back to Ottawa. Last Wednesday, the procession returned to Morris for closing ceremonies.

The LaSalle and Grundy counties’ Farm Bureaus got involved by serving meals throughout the Adventure. Organizers also provide mechanics to travel with the procession, offering assistance to anyone unlucky enough to break down.

The Heritage Tractor Adventure is produced under the direction of Mary Beth DeGrush, vice president of the HCCVB. The bureau encourages economic development through tourism promotion in the communities and counties along the nation’s first National Heritage Corridor.

For more information, visit www.HeritageTractorAdventure.com