| Illinois antique tractor club crosses river – to Missouri |
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By CINDY LADAGE
Illinois Correspondent
SAINTE GENEVIEVE, Mo. — Over the Sept. 15-16 weekend, the Gateway Two-Cylinder Tractor Club took its machines on the road.
The group headed out from the Marie and John Meier homestead in Waterloo, Ill., made several stops along the way, crossed the Mighty Mississippi on a ferry boat, drove to Sainte Genevieve and rested before delighting the residents of this historic town with a nighttime tractor parade.
“It is a 39-mile trek one way,” John Meier said about what has become their annual tractor drive.
It was sight to behold when 21 tractors, a wagon with several spouses in it, a support vehicle and another wagon with luggage filed into Sainte Genevieve on late Saturday afternoon. Leaving at 9 a.m., the group arrived in the scenic town around 2:30 p.m.
While primarily John Deere enthusiasts, the group also had a couple of International Harvesters, Case, Massey Ferguson and a lone McCormick-Deering. The only criteria was that the tractor be able to go at least 10 miles per hour.
This group brought another interesting item on their trip. What began as a joke about being prepared for “necessary breaks” resulted in a traveling porta-potty hauled behind one of the tractors, for “just in case.”
“It was used along the way,” tractor driver Kris Trout admitted. While waiting to board the ferry, “One person even stopped and asked if they could use it.”
Trout was one of the few female tractor drivers. She is no novice when it comes to getting behind the wheel of a two-cylinder. “I have been driving tractors for 30 years. I drove a John Deere 620, it is my father’s, but I lay claim to it,” she said.
Why did they select St. Genevieve? First, the town opened its arms to the Two-Cylinder group. Second is the town itself – Saint Genevieve is located along the banks of the Mississippi river.
Long before most of the Midwest was settled, this town established an agricultural community. Sainte Genevieve is the oldest town in Missouri. Established between 1725-50 primarily by French Canadians, the town was named after a French saint who is credited with helping protect Paris during the Frank invasion and onslaught of Attila the Hun.
Sainte Genevieve survived the French Canadian settlement, which ceded the land to Spain in 1762 at the close of the French and Indian War, and the Louisiana Purchase, which brought the English and American influence to the area.
One the town’s draws is the history of early French Canadians and the specific architecture attributed to them. They adapted their building style to the warmer southern climate by adding porches, referred to as galleries, to surround the homes. This unique French style required that instead of the traditional pioneer laying of logs in a horizontal fashion, they be placed vertically and filled with a mixture of clay and straw called bouzilloge. They then added a hip roof to top it off.
Homes of this style still remain and are open for tours. This is one of the few cities where this type of architecture is still intact and there are six historic homes that can be toured.
The town also is home to a burgeoning wine area with the most scenic wineries in the surrounding countryside. For details about the area, visit www.saintegenevievetourism.org or call 800-373-7007.
Once the Two-Cylinders arrived in town, they checked into their rooms, stopped at a few shops and restaurants and rested for the big parade. Seven p.m. was parade time. The tractors were parked outside of the Sainte Genevieve museum and they loaded up, ready to roll.
Not everyone drove a wagon; several fun-loving individuals shared a ride in the wagon, which has special meaning for the club because member Jerry Joyner constructed it. His wife, Joyce, made the cushions, which offered comfort on the bumpy ride. Jerry passed away in April and his wife donated the trailer, one of the ladies on the trip said, “So everyone could have a good time.” A picture of Jerry is on the wagon acknowledging his tribute to their club.
Another member who joined the wagon ride was Al Barbagallo, who left his John Deere 750 diesel at home. He had driven his 2001 Ford F20 filled with tools, gas, oil and a variety of other things for just in case.
“We had to use a few tools. We had a wheel that was walking, an umbrella fell off and we had an oil leak,” he said.
The parade, however, went off without a hitch. With a police car leading, the group set off. Rose Hammitt of Salisbury, Ill., came south to ride in the wagon and join in the fun. “This is great,” she said.
Spectators seemed to agree. Children stood alongside the streets with their parents and waved at the drivers and cars pulled aside, one woman commented, “Just like a funeral procession.”
The group toured for an hour, then parked their old iron outside the police station for a well-deserved rest. The next day, just like in the old Westerns, the group saddled up and rode home – with the sunrise, though, not the sunset.
To find out more about the Gateway Two-Cylinder Collectors, visit www.greencollectors.com |
| 10/3/2007 |
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