One of my Dad's favorite sayings was, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do." He was a mining geologist, which meant that when I was a child, we moved frequently and lived in a lot of different states as well as out of the country. Dad truly lived according to that saying and taught his family to as well. As an adult I have lived in one spot for 34 years. But the saying still holds true. For instance one of the pleasures of living in this semi-rural area is attending and participating in the county fair the third week of every July (another pleasure is going on long bike rides on these paved country roads).

Bill and Mary Hedrick always sponsor an Antique Tractor Exhibit at our county fair each year. Usually my husband Ben will meticulously detail and then display his two vintage tractors in the exhibit: a 1947 Allis Chalmers D which he grew up with on a farm in Kentucky and a Ford 2000 series tractor which he purchased from a neighbor to plow our country garden and to clean the snow from our country drive-way.

It was quite the adventure getting the tractors to the exhibit this year. It's been a summer of record rains. The Friday before the fair Ben drove the Allis in after breakfast and the Ford after lunch. He pulled a little fringed surrey behind the Ford so the grand-kids could ride in the tractor parades. I drove behind him on that second trip to town. Our half of the sky was sunny most of the way into town but all the while the other half of the sky loomed before us, vast and black. I could tell by the water tower that this other sky had swallowed the fairgrounds. The rain cut loose a few blocks before we reached Teal Road. Ben pulled the Ford and surrey over to the curb and made a dash for the car but still got absolutely soaked. Good thing I thought to bring along a change of clothes, just in case! Back at the tractor tent we all just laughed about it because it's all just part of the fun. :)

Along with the Antique Tractor Exhibit, Bill and Mary and the Fair Board usually schedule three Antique Tractor Parades, one on Sunday afternoon after the fair opens and then one on Monday evening and one on Wednesday evening, both at 6p. The series of photos below are from all three parades in 2015. I hope you will enjoy these lovely old tractors below as well as the skill of their owners for whom these machines from the past represent many cherished memories.

I didn't get a clear shot of everyone, but I did get a clear shot of most - apologies to those I missed and a promise that I'll try again next year! :)