Plow Boy wins ugly tractor contest

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By Mary Louise Speer | Sunday, July 9, 2006 9:16 PM CDT | () comments

Photos Nick Loomis/QUAD-CITY TIMES Darren Keppy of Eldridge, Iowa, right, rolls over a bale of hay as opponent Kyle Strobbe of Long Grove races to the finish line during the Farmers Olympics event Saturday at the Eldridge Summer Festival.

ELDRIDGE, Iowa — Who says a rusty old boy cannot take top honors in a beauty — sort of — pageant? Plow Boy, a 1930 John Deere GP tractor, easily took top honors in Saturday’s Ugly Tractor Contest during the three-day Eldridge Summer Festival 2006.

This weekend the town of Eldridge is celebrating the best of its farming roots, business and residential growth. Saturday’s highlights were the parade, Car Cruise, talent demonstrations and the quarter-mile, 1-mile and 4-mile runs of the Moonlight Chase. The event winds down today with carnival wrist band day, food, kids activities and the Rustic Ridge Golf Tourney all starting at noon.

“We nicknamed this tractor Old Plow Boy. Actually we use it a lot and the kids slid down the fenders. They’re not going to scratch the paint and we just have a good time,” says Plow Boy’s “Daddy,” Cork Groth of Eldridge.

Originally, the field vehicle was a true Deere green many a year ago, he said. He pointed out faint traces of paint left on the original 2-cylinder engine. To get the old boy moving, he has to open the compression relief valves and manually spin the fly-wheel before the engine starts up.

“Do you know how I keep this looking so nice? I Turtle Wax it every fall and spring and it turned brown like a turtle,” he said.

Ray Brown of Eldridge was quite happy to not win the competition, he said. People viewed his mama- and baby-sized International Harvester, or IH, McCormick Farmall tractors during the parade and contest. Both feature slanted tires on the front, a design that actually makes them easier to drive, he said.

He custom built the baby tractor using IH parts. A lot of people ask him if he purchased the double-seat machine but no, it is a one-of-a-kind, says Brown.

Possibly, the bigger machine, a 1941 Farmall B, might have taken the ugliest award when he purchased it. “The Mama was a pure disaster when I got it. It’s got all new paint, new tires,” he said.

Volunteers set up an obstacle course for the Farmer Olympics Competition with bales of hay, bags of seed and buckets of water. Contestants ran two at a time and received 10-second penalties if they spilled too much water or failed to scramble over a large round bale.

Kyle Strobbe of Long Grove and Darren Keppy of Eldridge matched strengths during the first heat. Corn seed went flying as the two shoveled the golden kernels from bin to bin before racing off to tackle the round hay bale. Strobbe completed the obstacle course first.

“Go Carrie!” chanted fans as Carrie Shannon competed against Shauna Coussens, both of Eldridge. Coussens crossed the finish line first and dropped the heavy buckets of water.

Growing up on a farm helps, she said, as she paused to catch her breath. “Getting over the big hay bale, that’s pretty easy,” she said. The toughest part is “the feed sacks. They just slip through your fingers.”

The city desk can be contacted at

(563) 383-2245 or newsroom@qctimes.com.

If you go

What: Eldridge Summer Festival 2006

Where: By downtown Eldridge, Iowa

When: 12-5 p.m. today

Special: Wrist band day, food vendors, kids activities and the Rustic Ridge Golf Tourney