Babcock to among threshers taking part in tractor relay

By Peggy Brown

Waverly - This will be the first tractor relay that Jason Babcock of Waverly has taken part in.

He said he thought it sounded like fun, so he, along with a handful of other Camp Creek Threshers members, will pull out of the Threshers' showgrounds Sunday morning, June 3 and head to Seward.

He said he would be driving his Ford 2N tractor and would pulling a "people hauler".

"I hope to load it up with the kids and adult supervision and take off with them," he said.

Babcock added he didn't think he would go the entire 60-mile distance that day.

"Right now I'm looking at going about 10 to 15 miles," he said.

Tractor enthusiasts across the state will participate in the "Tractor Relay Across Nebraska, which will start near Plattsmouth June 2. Those tractors will come to the Camp Creek Threshers showgrounds east of Waverly late that afternoon where drivers and their families will gather for fellowship and food.

"We will have a meal served at the showgrounds," said Duane Starr, who is helping organize the relay.

Sandwiches, baked beans, chips, and a drink will be sold for $6 beginning at 5:30 p.m.

Tractors will be on display through daylight hours and Starr said the public was welcomed to come and see the 70 plus tractors expected in that first leg of traveling as well as eat with the drivers.

Tractors will pull out of the showgrounds on Sunday morning at approximately 8:30 a.m. and will make their way through Waverly. Starr said that after tractors stop for gas, they will head south on No. 148th Street, turn west on Amberly Road, turn north at Canongate and continue until they hit Waverly Road where they again will turn west.

From there the tractors will travel, hopefully at 13 miles an hour, and make it to York by mid-afternoon.

The group will continue on come Monday morning going 54 miles to Grand Island. On June 10, the relay will end in Lyman after traveling 500 miles.

This is first time the Nebraska Antique Farming Association, a newly formed organization for antique farm equipment devotees, have organized a relay.

Starr said the route had been divided into segments that can be driven in one day. Different members of the organization will oversee each segment, maintaining a maximum thirteen miles per hour speed and making sure that the pace is maintained to complete their assigned mileage. Starr is helping with the Segment Two of the Relay, from Waverly to York.

Starr said that there were a few tractor drivers coming in from Iowa to take part in the Relay and that while most of the drivers weren't driving all seven days, there were a few that were determined to make the entire trip.

Babcock said he was excited to take part in it.

"They have been talking about for some time now and I just decided I wanted to see what it was about," he added. "It should be fun."