In Rockford, Illinois, high school students are steeping themselves in rural tradition by forgetting about automobile transportation the Friday before spring break. The administrators of Winnebago High School are giving students permission to drive their John Deere battery power tractors and diesel farm equipment to school for an annual event known as Tractor Day.

This event encourages local teenagers to feel at ease with their school and its policies, as at least half of them are already entrenched in the farm life. "It means a lot to me because I'm a farmer," one Winnebago student told the Rockford Register Star. "Farming is what built Winnebago. To me, it still is a farming community."

Appealing to both the boys and girls of Winnebago, tractors are usually grouped together in parade formation as they slowly advance toward the school. To many students, Tractor Day is more meaningful than prom.

Winnebago High School isn't alone in regard to this exciting heritage. Many high schools - particularly in rural communities of the southern and midwestern states, where the rules are a little more relaxed - allow students to drive to school on tractors during homecoming for the sake of tradition.