craigdailypress.com

Being part of a world record is not something everyone can claim.

That’s one reason Craig resident Bill Spicer took his 1954 Model 70 John Deere tractor almost 12 hours to Grand Island, Neb., to participate in the World’s Largest Tractor Parade.

Over 1,100 owners of classic tractors from across the country went to Grand Island Saturday to break the Guinness World Record for the most classic tractors in one place.

Spicer, a member of the Yampa Valley Antique Power Association in Craig, and his brother restored their father’s John Deere tractor last year.

Rural television channel RFD-TV sponsored the tractor parade in an effort to break the previous record of 745 classic tractors set in 2008 in Germany.

To qualify for the count, a tractor had to complete a two-mile loop around a track in any amount of time. Due to poor weather and some breakdowns, the 1,139 registered tractor owners were whittled down to 964, but it was still enough to set the record by over 200.

Spicer said tractors were in all kinds of condition.

“Some of them were like brand new and some looked like they just came out of the field yesterday,” he said.

The event was a rare opportunity for Spicer. He enjoyed his time in Grand Island.

“It’s something that I wanted to experience and I’ll never experience again,” he said. “We may not even see this record broken. Probably somebody will get some ambition and go for it, but who knows.”