Tractor Races At Canadian Fall Farm

Tractor Races At Canadian Fall Farm FARM HOME recreation 26-6-36 As a member of the Providence Bay Agriculture Society, I enjoyed reading your article, "Tractor Races Fun Way To Raise Funds" (Vol. 26, No. 3). Our group has held a Fall Fair for the last 118 years on the third full weekend in August. The fair is located in Providence Bay on beautiful Manitoulin Island, Ontario. We're always on the lookout for new and interesting events. After reading the article, I took it to a board meeting and the board decided to set up similar races at this year's event. We were able to attract three tractors over 30 years old, and the owners were willing to allow experienced drivers to use them. We had eight contestants for this first-time event and quite a few spectators. The object of the first race was to drive the slowest tractor over a 60-ft. long straight course, running two tractors in two lanes at a time. In the second race, the driver was blindfolded. We started the drivers one at a time about 75 ft. from the original track. We encouraged wives or close family members to be the guides. The tractors were started in the opposite direction to the original track, and the driver had to weave between posts. The guide could only tell them to go left, right, or straight ahead. For the third race we used the same course used for the second race, except that drivers were not blindfolded and had to carry a wine glass filled to the brim with water. The driver had to carry the glass by the stem while negotiating the course. The winner was the one who had the most water left in his glass at the end of the race. Interest in our tractor races has grown. People are already trying to figure out how they're going to get their tractors to the Providence Bay Fair next year. (Doreen Campbell, 147 Perivale Rd. W., Rt. 1, Spring Bay, Ontario, Canada P0P 2B0; E-mail: dwitty@amtelecom. net or gloreg@vianet.ca)

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