March 28, 2024

Pandemic forces Summerfest changes

WATERMAN, Ill. — The show was brought to the streets of Waterman with a parade of tractors for the 20th annual Summerfest.

Summerfest, hosted by the Waterman Lions Club, is typically a daylong event at the town’s park with a variety of activities including a tractor show, but plans had to change due to the impacts of COVID-19.

“We wanted to do something instead of canceling everything,” said Shawn Blobaum, chairman of Summerfest for the Waterman Lions Club.

“We decided if people can’t come to the show, we can bring the show to the people in a form of a parade,” Blobaum said. “We thought if we could get 20 to 30 tractors to show up, that would be good.”

However, that number more than doubled and 67 tractor drivers participated in the parade with a wide variety of tractors that included International, John Deere, Minneapolis Moline and Ford, as well as others.

The parade route included a large number of streets in Waterman.

“People loved it, especially some of the older people that haven’t been able to see or do things for months,” Blobaum said. “There were people on their front porches or looking out their windows.”

Each tractor in the parade was numbered and the community had the opportunity to vote for their favorite tractor via a text.

The top three tractors selected were: 1941 John Deere H, driven by Bill Novicky, Sandwich; 1973 IH 966, driven by Terry Thompson, Ottawa; and 1957 Minneapolis Moline 445 driven by Lyle Peterson, Streator.

Waterman farmer Duane Boesche drove his 1952 John Deere A and pulled two Heider barge box wagons in the parade.

“My dad bought this tractor new in 1952,” he said. “I was 4 years old and I remember buying the tractor which has always been owned by my family.”

The two wagons were originally bought from Hipple and Monsess in 1962.

“That was a Case dealer in Waterman on Adams Street,” Boesche said. “These wagons have never left this farm because the man who lived on this farm had an auction in 1966 and I bought them.”

The 200-bushel wagon has an all-wooden box.

“That was a big wagon in 1962,” Boesche said. “We used them to haul ear corn and shelled corn and I don’t think the wagons have ever spent a night outside.”

Boesche together with his son, Michael, restored the wagons, as well as the tractors in the family’s collection. In addition, to the John Deere tractor, the collection includes a John Deere 730, International 140 and several International Farmall As.

“I thought the parade was cool and I’m glad they did it,” Boesche said. “There were a lot of people sitting out in their yards and I was surprised to see that many tractors in the parade from all over the county.”

The parade was co-sponsored by the DeKalb County Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture. A portion of the tractor entry fee will support the Ag in the Classroom program.

Evening events at Summerfest included a fireworks show and a drive-in movie, “A Night at the Museum.”

“We put some music to the fireworks this year, which was a nice touch,” Blobaum said. “Our committee will be meeting to talk about anything we’d like to continue doing from this year.”

Blobaum hopes the 2021 Summerfest will be able to return to events that have typically been held in the past.

“I think it was important to do something this year even as scary as it was and maybe bold and risky,” he said. “It was good to give something to the community.”