Tractor club gearing up for season

So, how does a tractor club have a season?

Well, it does when it comes to monthly rides in the countryside.

Bollinger County Antique Tractor Club plans one tractor ride a month from May through November -- before Thanksgiving and weather permitting. Anyone interested in tractors is welcome to attend the tractor rides and the club meetings.

The next club meeting will be at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, at Patton Livestock Sale Barn. Meetings are on the fourth Tuesday of each month.

Club members range in age from the late 20s to the early 80s. In addition to Bollinger County, current members reside in Perry, Cape Girardeau and St. Louis counties.

Bruce Wortmann of Fruitland, a board member in the club, said folks have plenty to talk about at the club meetings, including "future tractor rides and what routes to take, when to take the rides and where to eat and notifying people of the rides."

He said they also talk about taking care of the property the club owns, old tractors and how fast they run.

"You do not have to own a tractor to join," Wortmann emphasized. "An interest in tractors is always a good thing. Many of us do not live or work on a farm. We just love tractors and being around others that like them also."

Tractors have been a big part of Wortmann's life.

"As a teenager I worked on many farms in Central Missouri and drove many tractors," Wortmann said. "After I retired, I heard about tractor rides near me and went to watch them leave. My interest came back to me from when I was young. My wife said, 'Why don't you do that?' That set everything in motion when I bought my first antique tractor, a 1946 Farmall A. I now own and drive a 1948 Farmall H."

He said a 1937 WC Allis Chalmers is the oldest tractor owned by a club member.

"An antique tractor should be at least 40 years old and no cab," Wortmann said. "It can come right out of the field or it can be painted fancy. It has to be able to run 10 mph."

During the monthly tractor rides, members and guests ride their own tractors.

"Maybe you have a friend who has a tractor who would lend you a tractor to go on a ride. That would also work," Wortmann said. "They can attach buddy seats to their tractors but not trailers. A tractor seat is removed and a wider seat that holds two people is attached. Usually a back is on the buddy seat."

Bollinger County Antique Tractor Club was founded in 1983.

Monthly newsletters should begin in August. The annual dues are $10.

For more information about the club, call Wortmann at (573) 579-4945.