The North Dakota Winter Show was held over the weekend in Valley City and among other events, the Old-Time Tractor Pull attracted those looking for a dose of
farm life fun.
The old and the young came out for the Winter Show. Howard Stemen, one of the Tractor Pull's participants from Dickey, North Dakota, rode his antique tractor at the event, and told the Jamestown Sun it was the perfect way to spend his 74th birthday. Gavin Johnson, a sprightly two-year-old from Davenport, spent Saturday watching his dad drive a 1951 M Farmall - a gift for the little guy from his grandfather.
"Quite a gift from grandpa for a little kid," remarked Justin Johnson, Gavin's father and the operator of the piece of farm equipment. "This will be the first time we've had this tractor in a pull so we don't how how it will do." The event is limited to tractors that are at least 40 years old, "but a lot of the drivers are way over that," Stemen joked.
Sam Bell, a 15-year-old who joined in on the event, said he bought his John Deere Model A used tractor three years ago. "I suppose I have about $2,500 invested in the tractor over the years. I've lost track of the hours I've worked on it,"
he said.