Ken Richards, who attends Trinity Christian Centre in Dresden, ON organized a tractor parade to raise money for cancer. Many in the community got involved, and with 1,231 tractors on parade they broke the previous Guiness world record! The parade raised over $100,000.
This story was printed in the Chatham-Kent Daily Post:
How do you beat a world record for the largest parade of tractors? You convince at least 601 other farmers to bring their iron beast to your home town and there you have it.
It wasn’t that simple but Ken Richards, of Dresden somehow managed to equal and in fact double the previous record of 601 tractors in a parade in Dresden on Saturday, July 24, 2010. “I’m told we officially had 1231 tractors and their operators in this show for which I am truly grateful,” said a proud Richards.
Tractors cued up in a 75 acre wheat stubble field and drove a 3 kilometer run to the Dresden Fairgrounds where they covered the inner race track.
The parade was so large that it took nearly 6 hours to pass a given point. There were green 400 horse behemoths all the way down to tiny garden sized tractors in the procession.
“It’s going to take me a few days to get over the excitement of having this turn out so well. We really, really appreciated the help from volunteers and the sponsorships we got from seed and chemical companies. Without them, it wouldn’t have happened,” adds Richards.
The record, once vetted, will be published in the upcoming Guinness Book of World Records. Meantime the Canadian Cancer Society, Dresden branch is going to have a $102,000 deposit soon. The tractor drive had a subtitle of Drive out Cancer and participants gave at the registration desk. In fact, Richard’s tractor number 602 was a 1944 Cockshutt 60 painted in a cancer yellow theme with blue and pink stripping for prostate and breast cancer, two types which mean a lot in the Richard’s household.
