CARLTON, MICHIGAN– Chase Harvell pulled into the parking lot of Airport High School on Friday in southeastern Michigan for the last time before graduation next week.
Harvill was driving a family car, just as he had done countless times before.
However, the speed of this set of wheels was about 25 mph (40 km/h).
Harvill and dozens of fellow seniors eschewed their cars and trucks and arrived in tractors, ATVs, golf carts and more.
It was all part of Tractor Day, a celebration dating back to the 1980s at the school in Carleton, Michigan, about 35 miles (56 kilometers) south of Detroit. Most students arrived by 7:30 a.m., but the fun continued throughout the day with games, music and lunch served by a local restaurant.
This annual event is not only a fun celebration for seniors but also serves to honor the area’s agricultural heritage.
“We’re just an agricultural school,” Harvill said. “It’s a tradition. Everyone did it before us. We just keep it going.”
The fourth-generation farmer Friday was behind the wheel of a Case 305 Magnum, the same tractor he uses to till the soil where he and his family grow soybeans and corn. And the one that his older brother drove to the Tractor Day three years ago.
Mia Hubert arrived bright and early in a John Deere 8300 that could practically drive itself to school at this point. The same tractor carried Hubert’s two sisters and eight of their cousins to the high airport over the past few days.
“Last day with all my friends,” said Hubert, who plans to study nursing at Monroe County Community College next year.
Austin Nido, who may hold the distinction of having the best vintage ride, said Friday was “one last fun.” He arrived in a restored 1940 Farmall A, a tractor once owned by Nido’s great-grandfather.
As chapter treasurer, Jocelyn Kleiman helped organize Friday’s festivities, which she described as “our last holiday.” She expected 150 out of 180 elderly people to participate in Tractor Day.
Kleiman and two friends rode an off-road vehicle known as a “side-by-side.” She has been looking forward to this day for four years, having, like other airport students, been able to watch the end-of-year celebrations only through classroom windows.
“You can see how much fun the seniors are having,” said Kleiman, who plans to attend Michigan State University in the fall. “What a nostalgic event really.
“And how much the seniors look forward to it every year.”