Via Community News Service, a University of Vermont journalism internship, for the Charlotte News
On Sunday, Oct. 11, tractor owners and families gathered in East Charlotte for the annual tractor parade, bringing vintage tractors, longtime farming connections and a new generation of participants to Green Mountain Hay on Spear Street.
For many attendees, the parade is about more than showing off their tractors. This year’s event highlighted how tractors and farming traditions are being passed between generations, from longtime participants who grew up farming to younger drivers taking over family tractors.
Cameron Day, 15, participated in the parade for the first time with a 1940s tractor that belonged to his grandfather, who had bought it secondhand in the late 1960s. The machine was used mainly for logging.
“He used it in the woods for a long time, and he’s kind of passed it on to me,” Cameron said. “And so now I’m kind of trying to make it live on.”
The day began at Green Mountain Hay, where parade participants were invited to gather for lunch at 11 a.m. By 12:30 p.m., tractors began lining up for the procession, which was scheduled to start at 1 p.m. The 4.5-mile route started on Spear Street, turned onto Hinesburg Road, went down Bean Road, then Prindle Road, before looping back to Spear.
Farther up Spear Street, the intersection with Hinesburg Road became the main gathering point for spectators. Vendors and Remember Baker, a five-piece string band, filled the area around the Charlotte General Store. Children played nearby as families waited for tractors to arrive.
The parade was part of a larger day of activities along Spear Street. Besides putting its tractors on display, Green Mountain Hay hosted food vendors and children’s activities, including a pedal tractor track, a route lined with hay bales that participants traversed with John Deere-branded tricycles. Other attractions were spread farther up the route.
Some participants have been part of the parade since it started more than 20 years ago.
Mike Cook, this year’s grand marshal, said he has taken part in the parade for its entire history. He farmed full-time but is now retired and helps out at Green Mountain Hay.
Cook thinks he may have been participating in the tractor parade since it started. This year, “I’m going to be the leader,” he said.
Others return because the parade keeps them connected to a farming community they have known for much of their lives.
Ken Gebo, a local farmer, gathered with other longtime participants in Green Mountain Hay’s barn before the parade, enjoying a hot dog lunch. Gebo grew up around farming and said his reason for returning to the event is simple.
“Just love tractors,” Gebo said.
Gebo and the men around him talked about growing up on farms and knowing many of the people at the event. Although some no longer farm, their connections to tractors and local farming communities remain.
For Ashley Clark, of Twin Oaks Dairy Farm, the traditions center on her family.
Clark, her husband and their four children decorate their tractor and wagon with a fall or Halloween theme each year. They spent hours decorating before this year’s event, going all in on the Halloween theme. This year’s float was complete with wilted corn husks, spider webs, scarecrows and ghouls.
“We look forward to this weekend every year,” she said. “It’s spending time with family and not having to worry about outside stuff.”
Clark also said the slow pace of the parade gives her a different view of the landscape around her.
“Like in a car, it’s not the same,” she said. “It’s the slowness, and you get to see things that you’ve always taken for granted.”
For another family, this year marked the start of the tradition for a new generation. Nathan Bonneau of Williston has participated in the parade every year since October 2010. This year, his daughter, Everly, joined him for her first parade. Prior to the procession, Everly waited with her father on their blue Ford tractor as other farmers got ready.
For 15-year-old Cameron, driving his grandfather’s tractor kicked off a brand-new tradition.
“I’m hoping that I can do it every year,” Cameron said.