Restored tractors put their pull power on the line

By LORI COPE | East Texas Edition

Glenn Griffin of Whitehouse urges his 1957 John Deere 720 a little further as the weight increases on the sled. -- Staff photos by Cope

October 30, 2003 -- The deep, putt-putt rumble of tractor engines filled the crisp autumn air at the Winnsboro City Park recently as antique tractors put their pulling power to the test.

On Oct. 11-12, the Lake Country Antique Tractor and Engine Association and the Autumn Trails Association hosted the fifth annual antique tractor show, which this year, for the first time, included a tractor pull.

The tractor pull included 95 antiques tractors entered in 17 classes of competition, divided by the size of the tractor. Class winners, which each received a blue ribbon, were:

Class 1 - Joe Bob Busby, Winnsboro; Class 2 - Wayne Weeks, Emory; Class 3 - Spencer Wilson, Winnsboro; Class 4 - Jim Saxon, Shreveport, La.; Classes 5 and 6 - Earl Carmichael, Hillsboro; Class 7 - Ron Davis, Mineola;

Classes 8, 9, and 10 - Joe Terry, Whitehouse; Class 11 - Bob Watts; Class 12 - Larry Lough, Whitehouse; Classes 13 and 14 - Glenn Griffin, Whitehouse; (no entries for Classes 15 and 16); and Open Class - Bill Weddle, Blossom.

Event organizer Mike Banks noted Wintex Construction provided the equipment to repack the pull's dirt lane and Lone Star Antique Tractor and Engine Association of Tyler furnished the scales for the pull. Alexander Tractors of Winnsboro sponsored the pull back tractor, and the $500 prize money for Best of Show; Showmanship; and Oldest Running Tractor.

The Oldest Running Tractor at the Winnsboro event is owned by Harold Boyer of Quitman. His 1934 model Farmall F12 tractor earned him a trophy, plus $100 prize money.

"This is the first one (trophy and prize money) I've won," he said. "I had the oldest tractor here four years ago, I think, but just got recognition for it."

Harold Boyer of Quitman earned the "Oldest Running Tractor" award at the event. -- Staff photos by Cope

Boyer, who is "semi-retired," said he has been restoring old tractors since 1998, and currently has eight antique tractors to work on. "Three are running," he added.

"As a kid I saw plenty of them going down the road, but Dad never had one," Boyer said. "I bought this Farmall (1934 model) from Bob Stone (who won the event's Showmanship award), and it just escalated from there."

Boyer, who is working on his ninth year as a school bus driver, moved to Quitman about 10 years ago, and finds the East Texas area ideal for restoring old tractors. "And this show here is one of the best ones I've been to."

Winning the Showmanship title, plus $250, was Bob Stone of Weston; and David McCauley of Waxahachie won the Best of Show title, plus $150.

"We hope to have another tractor pull next year," Banks said. "The antique tractor show is the second weekend in October, and the tractor pull would be the same weekend."