CENTERBURG — Stephen Wright took the lead Saturday as parade marshal for the annual Oldtime Farming Festival.
He said it was an honor.
“We’ve been in this area for so many years, and it’s nice to be able to do it,” he said.
The 80-year-old Wright grew up on a farm near Cheshire and has lived in the Centerburg area since the 1960s.
He farmed crops in the area of Morrow County Road 199 and Ohio 314.
“I did custom work for people, spurrioring and that kind of thing,” he said.
After being drafted in 1968 and spending more than 14 months in Vietnam as a 175mm Howitzer driver and gunner, Wright joined the U.S. Army Reserves.
In 1972, he joined the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio. The state transferred the PUCO to the Ohio State Highway Patrol in 1995.
He retired from the Army in 1995 and the OSHP in 2001.
Wright’s wife, children, and grandchildren joined him on the parade float.
He said the Oldtime Farming Festival is “always a good deal down here.”
“It’s just worthwhile, a good time for family fun,” he said.
Vintage tractors a family affair
Wright, along with with his son and grandson, have about 27 old farm tractors between them.
“Being part of these old tractor clubs and everyone involved, have just been a blessing to me,” he wrote in a letter to festival officials thanking them for the honor of being parade marshal.
“Just the nicest people, and I’d do anything for them.”
His tractor of choice is Massey Harris and Massey Ferguson, the tractor he was grew up with as a boy.
Although the bright red of the Massey Ferguson led the parade, there were plenty of other colors represented in Saturday’s parade: John Deere green, Farmall red, Allis-Chalmers orange, Ford gray and red, and Silver King gray.
The festival continues through 5 p.m. Sunday.
(Below are Cheryl Splain’s parade photos.)
