TO THE BRIDGE – County Line Antique Tractor Club members involved in the annual Drive to the Mackinaw Bridge were (front row, from left): Tom Belill, Leo Wines, George Hinderer, Ben Huff, Claude Benjamin, Amber Ash, Jeff Ash and Dell Norder plus (back row, from left) Mickey Dowd, Jim Fox, Tim Malone, Kay Hinderer, Kyle Issac, Caleb Stroup and Floyd Koerner Jr. Not in the picture were David Dowd and Nancy Koerner. (Courtesy Photo)
Sixteen members of the County Line Antique Tractor Club drove his/her tractor the 250 miles to Mackinaw City to participate in the 8th annual Tractor Bridge Ride organized by Owosso Tractor Parts. “For the first time, we had a female tractor driver and a female buddy rider,” said Nancy Koerner.
Ten tractors started from the home of Floyd and Nancy Koerner near Laingsburg at 7 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 8, picked up two drivers on Hibbard Road and three more at Bannister, continuing from there. Nancy Koerner followed or led with the pickup. Houghton Lake was the goal for the first night and was reached about 7:30 p.m. after going through frequent rain showers – one very heavy north of Coleman.
“Wednesday’s destination was Indian Lake and we had a beautiful day for the drive,” she said. “Mackinaw City was reached at about 11:30 a.m. Thursday. There were a few mechanical problems along the way and we appreciated the help of all who helped in any way – towing tractors, making minor repairs, etc.
“This was the fourth year of the drive to the bridge. It was first organized by Ron Gruesbeck in 2012. Members driving or riding this year were Floyd Koerner Jr., Caleb Stroup, Kyle Issac, Tim Malone, Ben Huff, Leo Wines, Del Norder, Jim Fox, Claude Benjamin, Mickey Dowd, David Dowd, Tom Belill, Amber Ash, Jeff Ash, George and Kay Hinderer.
