By TIM ALEXANDER
Illinois Correspondent

PERU, Ill. — Approximately 330 tractors descended on the Illinois and Michigan Canal National Heritage Corridor in north-central Illinois for the sixth annual Heritage Tractor Adventure on June 9-13.

Ag radio and television personality Max Armstrong again served as grand marshal and lead driver for the 100-mile procession, guiding drivers from across the U.S. through bucolic river towns such as Utica, Naplate and LaSalle-Peru on his antique Farmall Super H tractor.

“The communities are all very supportive of us,” said Mary Beth DeGrush, vice president of the Heritage Cor-ridor Convention and Visitors Bureau. “The participants are all very friendly and everyone involved is great to work with. Most participants have stories to tell about their tractors, so it makes for a fun family event.”

Tammy Greenwald of Beecher, Ill., was perhaps the most sought-after driver at a dinner at the Peru airstrip after the June 10 leg of the journey.

Arriving on a custom-painted pink 1953 Farmall Super M, cameras were clicking as spectators and other drivers gaped in astonishment and amusement.

“There are maybe 10 other women drivers on the route this year, but I’m the only one with a pink tractor,” said Greenwald.
“I’ve been getting a lot of comments – some good, some bad. Some say ‘I can’t believe you would paint that tractor pink; it’s supposed to be red’ or, ‘What were you thinking?’”

It turned out Greenwald had a couple of really good reasons for painting the tractor, which belongs to farming friends who were also in the parade.

“I had the idea to paint this tractor pink because the owner’s mother found a lump in her breast and ended up having a single mastectomy. We decided we wanted to attach the breast cancer awareness ribbon to the tractor to call attention to cancer research,” said Greenwald, who painted the tractor on Memorial Day weekend after a “wonderful brainstorm.”

“Pink also represents the fact that girls can drive tractors, too.”
Greenwald’s gesture was appreciated by many spectators, some of whom sought her out to thank her personally.

“My daughter just had breast cancer (surgery), and I just wanted to take a picture of you and your tractor. It will mean so much to her,” one female spectator told her.

Growmark FS and Grainco FS provided the funding and labor to keep the tractors rolling.

“Grainco provides the fuel and manpower for the event,” said Brent Ericson, general manager. “We provide refueling for tractors or just topping off the tractors’ fuel tanks during the ride and during scheduled rest stops.

“We have someone from our tire department out during the ride to help patch up any tires and to make sure that all the riders are able to complete the trip.”

A volunteer fueling tractors at the Peru airstrip said organizers expected to use between 4,000-5,000 gallons of fuel during the trip. For additional details on the Heritage Tractor Adventure, visit www.heritagecorridorcvb.com