“Plum Tractor” Was A Hit At Wedding
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It sounds tricky to keep a purple tractor a secret, but Bob Kurth managed to do just that. Except for his bride, Annie, and a few friends, the purple 1755 Oliver hitched to a decorated wagon was a total surprise to family and guests exiting the church after the couple’s October 2014 wedding ceremony.
The tractor is a fitting reflection of the couple. Annie, a city girl, loved the tractor rides she took with Kurth when they dated. As a salvage yard operator he had traded for the Oliver and had it in storage. With power brakes and steering he figured it would be a good first tractor for Annie. And, since it needed to be dismantled to install a clutch and repair other parts, it was a good candidate to restore and repaint. Annie liked the idea.
“She wanted it to be unique and girlie, but not pink,” Kurth says. She chose “Plum Crazy”, a flamboyant purple automotive paint that Kurth’s brother sells. The color set the theme for the wedding, and Annie’s choices for bridesmaids’ dresses and groomsmen’s ties coordinated well with the tractor.
Kurth hauled the Oliver about 30 miles to have the work done at Ron Jones Tractor Parts & Repair in Rock City, Ill., then brought it back after dark and hid it in a neighbor’s shed.
It was a hit with the guests and wedding party that rode on the wagon behind it through Lena, Ill., out to Kurth’s father’s farm to take photos with cattle and decorated hay bales, and back to the reception hall for about a 7-mile ride.
“My dad knew there would be a tractor, but he didn’t know what tractor. At the wedding I heard him say, ‘Darn kids; they aren’t supposed to be purple’,” Kurth laughs.
In fact, at least one Oliver 1850 was painted purple in 1966 as a sales gimmick. But it was definitely not Plum Crazy purple.
The color is permanent, Kurth says, and the tractor will likely be driven in local parades and tractor shows. And he’s considering using it in a pull or two. But there’s a prerequisite.
“Last fall I wanted to rake with it, but Annie wouldn’t let me,” Kurth says. “She said, ‘Not until I get to use it’.”
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Bob Kurth, 4906 N. Crossroads Rd., Lena, Ill. 61048 (ph 815 369-4731).
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“Plum Tractor” Was A Hit At Wedding TRACTORS Miscellaneous It sounds tricky to keep a purple tractor a secret but Bob Kurth managed to do just that Except for his bride Annie and a few friends the purple 1755 Oliver hitched to a decorated wagon was a total surprise to family and guests exiting the church after the couple’s October 2014 wedding ceremony The tractor is a fitting reflection of the couple Annie a city girl loved the tractor rides she took with Kurth when they dated As a salvage yard operator he had traded for the Oliver and had it in storage With power brakes and steering he figured it would be a good first tractor for Annie And since it needed to be dismantled to install a clutch and repair other parts it was a good candidate to restore and repaint Annie liked the idea “She wanted it to be unique and girlie but not pink ” Kurth says She chose “Plum Crazy” a flamboyant purple automotive paint that Kurth’s brother sells The color set the theme for the wedding and Annie’s choices for bridesmaids’ dresses and groomsmen’s ties coordinated well with the tractor Kurth hauled the Oliver about 30 miles to have the work done at Ron Jones Tractor Parts & Repair in Rock City Ill then brought it back after dark and hid it in a neighbor’s shed It was a hit with the guests and wedding party that rode on the wagon behind it through Lena Ill out to Kurth’s father’s farm to take photos with cattle and decorated hay bales and back to the reception hall for about a 7-mile ride “My dad knew there would be a tractor but he didn’t know what tractor At the wedding I heard him say ‘Darn kids; they aren’t supposed to be purple’ ” Kurth laughs In fact at least one Oliver 1850 was painted purple in 1966 as a sales gimmick But it was definitely not Plum Crazy purple The color is permanent Kurth says and the tractor will likely be driven in local parades and tractor shows And he’s considering using it in a pull or two But there’s a prerequisite “Last fall I wanted to rake with it but Annie wouldn’t let me ” Kurth says “She said ‘Not until I get to use it’ ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Bob Kurth 4906 N Crossroads Rd Lena Ill 61048 ph 815 369-4731
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