Summer Farm Toy Show Tractor Ride Comes to Manchester

Around four dozen tractors strolled through the countryside of Delaware County on Friday.

It was part of the Summer Farm Toy Show’s annual tractor ride, with 46 tractors taking part this year. The route took them north out of Dyersville to Petersburg, where they stopped for a breakfast snack before heading west on C-64 and then making their way south into Manchester.

After losing a couple to breakdowns along the way, the tractors pulled into the Delaware County Fairgrounds for a catered lunch break. Jerry Klostermann of Bankston looks forward to the ride every year. 

Klostermann was leading the way in his Case IH 5250. There’s a lot of family history and pride behind these tractors.

Henry Joosten was also along on Friday’s tractor ride. He has been on every Summer Farm Toy Show ride for the past 22 years, coming all the way to Dyersville from Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Joosten was traveling the route with his 1963 Case 430. He participates in around twenty tractor rides every year – his next one is Saturday in Door County, Wisconsin. He says there’s no better way to travel.  

You’ll find some of those tractors in Saturday night’s tractor parade too. The parade will kick off at 6:30 pm from the Beckman Catholic High School parking lot and make its way to downtown Dyersville. You can find a map of the parade route HERE.

photos courtesy of Janelle Tucker/KMCH