Ivan Gates shows off his Ford 3000 at Darrow's Pit in Mackinaw City Thursday, September 16, where tractors were staged in preparation for a parade across the Mackinac Bridge Friday. Mr. Gates brought his tractor to be a part of the Owosso Tractor Parts Antique Tractor Show in Mackinaw City and St. Ignace. A parade of 789 antique farm tractors chugged across the Mackinac Bridge and drew large crowds of onlookers in both Mackinaw City and St. Ignace Friday, September 17, part of the Owosso Tractor Parts Antique Tractor Show that brought tractor buffs to the Straits from Thursday, September 16, to Saturday, September 18.

“It's just fun,” said Ron Karsten of Curtiss, Wisconsin, of the show last weekend. “It's a good group of guys and I enjoy it.”

Tractors of all makes and models arrived in Mackinaw City throughout the day Thursday, stopping at Darrow's Pit in preparation for the Mackinac Bridge crossing the following day. A contingent of tractors paraded through downtown Mackinaw City Friday morning, and joined the parade crossing the bridge.

Tractors puttered across the Mackinac Bridge Friday, September 17, as part of the Owosso Tractor Parts Antique Tractor Show. Drivers left the staging grounds in Mackinaw City around 9 a.m. and finished the parade around 1 p.m. at Kewadin Shores Casino in St. Ignace. “It turned out pretty well. We're all pretty happy with it this year,” said tractor show organizer Bob Baumgras.

The antique tractors continued their parade through downtown St. Ignace, coming to rest at Kewadin Shores Casino, where they were displayed to the public until Saturday, September 18. Tractor owners shared how they modified or restored them, or passed them down through their family.

Dale Mielke of Beaverton parked his modified Ford 8N tractor at the casino site, fielding questions from spectators.

Tractors were displayed at Kewadin Shores Casino in St. Ignace until Saturday, September 18. “I like the John Deeres, but this one seems to get all the attention,” Mr. Mielke said of the Ford 8N, which runs on a 1948 dump truck engine.

Mr. Mielke crossed the bridge on the Ford 8N . He and his father spent most of their free time and an entire winter putting the engine in and converting it for use.

“I saw it done before, and I always liked them, so I thought I'd try it,” he said. He and his father have restored about 25 tractors, finishing them at a rate of about one each year.

Mike Marks of Brighton and his father, Ken, also participated in the show. Riding a 1953 Farmall Super M that his grandfather had • Daily Specials owned, he remarked about the experience of crossing the bridge and wondered what his grandfather would have thought of the opportunity.

Gene Beldyga of Chesaning rests on the 1949 Farmall A he purchased for his daughter while she was in high school. He is pictured alongside Harold Wettanen of Daggett. Mr. Beldyga rode the Farmall across the Mackinac Bridge during the Owosso Tractor Parts Antique Tractor Show. Deb Matthew of Vanderbilt showed off her Mother's Day gift,

a 1931 Model A Ford. The Ford was in pretty rough shape once, its windshield and roof missing and duct tape holding air in the tires.

“We drove it home and the antifreeze was leaking out of the radiator,” she said of the Ford.

Work on the Model A lasted about two years, with her friend, Marlene Guerin, helping her. They set out adding running boards to the vehicle, having welding work done on the frame, and overhauling just about everything else about it. The result was a ride that comfortably crossed the Mackinac Bridge during the parade.

Ron Karsten of Curtiss, Wisconsin, stands beside his 1945 Farmall H at Kewadin Shores Casino Friday, September 17. Mr. Karsten displayed his tractor in the Owosso Tractor Parts Antique Tractor Show. Model A Fords are often referred to as “Depression tractors,” she explained. During the Depression, tractors were at a premium, but many people had old vehicles like the Model A collecting rust around their home. Farmers could overhaul the cars into makeshift tractors that would meet many of their needs.

Gene Beldyga of Chesaning arrived at the tractor show with a 1949 Farmall A. The tractor was originally purchased for his daughter while she was in high school and a member of Future Farmers of America. Mr. Beldyga attended because he particularly wanted to enjoy the ride across the bridge.

Deb Matthew of Vanderbilt sits inside her Ford Model A, a vehicle that was often overhauled during the Depression by farmers as a makeshift tractor. The Model A was part of the Owosso Tractor Parts Antique Tractor Show that took place Friday, September 17, and Saturday, September 18. “Any time you can get about 800 tractors across the bridge is a good thing,” he said.
At right: The parade across the Mackinac Bridge.