CENTERBURG — The annual Oldtime Farming Festival got underway on Saturday with Centerburg resident Wendell Yoakam serving as grand marshal for the parade.
“It’s an honor,” Yoakam said of the recognition.
Yoakam has owned his farm since 1960 and raises freezer beef. He also taught math in the Centerburg and Highland school districts.
“Thirty-plus years of teaching was long enough, but I enjoyed every minute of it,” he said.
After retirement, he became involved with rental houses. Now, he says his grandkids take up his retirement spare time.
As to whether the grandkids are future farmers, Yoakam said, “They’re not interested. They’re too young yet.”
Tractors: The backbone of agriculture
Fittingly, the parade featured an abundance of old-time tractors with a sprinkling of modern-day models.
John Deere green and Allis-Chalmers orange joined the Massey-Harris/Massey-Ferguson, Farmall, and Minneapolis-Moline models.
Several Silver Kings were on hand, which is special as the brand has a connection to Knox County.
Following the economic crash of 1929, the Fate-Root-Heath company was looking for a product that was cheap enough to produce that people could afford to buy in quantity.
Located in Plymouth, Ohio, the heart of prime farmland, the company decided to add a farm tractor to its production line.
Luke Biggs, a Knox County farmer who built his own tractor with an automobile engine and a Ford truck rear axle, joined the company as an engineer in the early 1930s.
Biggs’ tractor featured a single front wheel. When he showed his design to owner Charlie Heath, Biggs was offered a job on the spot and soon became head of the tractor division.
The company went on to produce what became known as the Silver King through 1954.
Biggs passed away in 1991 and is buried in Green Valley Cemetery. The Kiwanis Club of Mount Vernon honors Biggs’ contributions to agriculture with the annual Luke Biggs Award.
Contributions include serving on the Knox County Fair Board, helping start the Knox County Agricultural Museum, working with OSU Extension, and being a member of the Knox County Farm Bureau and Knox County Historical Society.
A Silver King owned by Biggs is on display in the ag museum.
(Below are Cheryl Splain’s photos of the parade.)
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