Sam Hedington, front, drives a horse-drawn wagon during Echoes of the Past’s event last weekend. Photo provided.

News Release

CLAYPOOL — The summer heat and humidity didn’t stop the crowds from enjoying the Echoes of the Past Tractor Show, Drive and Pull on Aug. 5 and 6.

It was located at the corner of County Farm Road and CR 700S in Claypool. Hundreds of patrons were treated to more than 135 vintage and antique restored tractors on display. A vintage thresher, donated by Bill and Becky Thomas, was put into action threshing the wheat the club had bound last month. The straw run through the thresher was then used to hide coins and golden tokens for the kids to find and trade in for prizes.

The corn pit, tube slide, tractor driving experience, rolling tubes and rope-making were huge hits with all the kids. The horse-drawn wagon ride, owned by Sam Hedington, was one of the favorite events of the weekend.

Tractor pulls kicked into gear Friday evening at 5 p.m., beginning with the lower horsepower tractors and ramping up to the higher pulls. Tractors pulled into the night under the lights to the enjoyment of the crowd.

The tractor drive on Saturday morning, which traveled through the countryside and was led by the club tram, lasted approximately two hours. Fifty tractors, John Deere, Farmall, Oliver and Minneapolis Moline and more, were part of the drive with more than 25 patrons riding the tram.

New to the event this year was the addition of garden tractor pulls. At 1 p.m. Saturday, the garden tractors began to line up to begin to pull. Thanks to Brian Wood, 12 people had the pleasure of pulling their garden tractors.

Also new this year, The Barrel Scrapers provided live entertainment. Bluegrass and country music playing in the background set the perfect atmosphere for an enjoyable Saturday evening.

The addition of an announcer for the event helped visitors at the event know when and where all the different activities were happening.

Beaver Dam United Methodist Church’s Wheels on Fire-Cancer Crusaders also helped serve food for the event on Saturday.