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Allis Chalmers caravan departing from Madison Aug. 10
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By ELISA SAND, Staff Reporter
| 07/29/2010 |
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Madison residents witnessed a "Gathering of the Orange" in 2009 during the Prairie Village Steam Threshing Jamboree. If in the right place on Aug. 10, residents could see it again.
The Prairie Village Jamboree was host to the National Allis Chalmers tractor show last year and was the destination for a caravan of 37 Allis Chalmers tractors driven from Oakes, N.D.
Another caravan has been organized, this time leaving from Madison. The destination is the National Allis Chalmers Farm Tractor and Machinery Show in Albert City, Iowa.
The caravan of 30 tractors plans to leave from Steve Williams' farm south of Madison at 7 a.m. on Aug. 10 and arrive in Albert City by Aug. 12.
Caravan organizer Mike Reeser said the 197-mile ride is a nice, leisurely drive with tractors moving an average of 10 mph.
Reeser said many of the caravan participants have gone on previous trips, the first of which was held in 2004. That journey took participants from Oakes, N.D., to Portage la Prairie in Manitoba, Canada. Each year, he said, organizers plan a trip to a national Allis Chalmers tractor show.
The caravan features Allis Chalmers models that range from 1937-era to the early 1970s with a horsepower range from 30-100.
Participants are from close to a dozen states, including Canada, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Nebraska, Utah and Wisconsin.
Reeser said that one Utah couple in their mid-70s has participated for four or five years.
Overnight stops are planned in Hills, Minn., and Sanborn, Iowa.
Reeser's wife Denise is part of a support crew that travels with the caravan, setting up meals and overnight locations. She said that for some, this is a destination that started with the trip to Canada.
"It's cool to connect that," she said. "A lot are driving the same tractor they have driven in the Canada ride," she said.
The trip also gives participants an opportunity to slow down and really see the countryside.
"When you are driving 60 mph, you miss a lot," she said. "When you go 10 mph, you see a lot more. It's really beautiful countryside."
As a member of the support crew, she is part of a team that is responsible for hauling the trailers, campers and support vehicles. She said it can be a challenge for the spouses because most don't like driving the longer trailers.
The support crew is typically ahead of the caravan, she said, but a chase vehicle does follow behind with a limited supply of tools and parts in case there's a mechanical problem.
"We've had very few breakdowns over the years," she said.
Weather conditions aren't much of a factor, either.
"We'll ride rain or shine as long as it's not severe," Mike Reeser said.
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