John Deere D Plow Day, Come Rain or Shine

July 23, 2022, on a whim we headed to Nappanee, Indiana. As part of Classic Green’s John Deere D Centennial Celebration in 2023, yesterday, they planned to have an all-John Deere D plow day.  I checked in with Mike Ostrander and he said the plans were on and to come on out!

Indiana Bound

Somehow, I had missed this event on my Antique Tractor Calendar 2022. Earlier in the day we made reservations in Logansport and left Illinois around 4:00. We stopped in Watseka, Illinois right before crossing the Stateline into Indiana and dined at La Postosina Mexican Restaurant. They had great food, then we drove on to Logansport to our hotel.

Rain and more rain!

At breakfast watching the forecast was dire. We headed north towards Nappanee anyway. When the weather really took a turn for the worst, we pulled over in a church parking lot and called Michael. “It is supposed to clear off around eleven, I think we can plow,” he said, so we forged ahead.

We hit some rain that need I say brought me saying the Lord’s prayer repeatedly! The grounds received two inches of rain, however Mike said it was sandy soil.

Power of the Past ground

We found our way to the Power of the Past grounds which is a lovely site where their goal is to preserve agriculture’s past! They have the Nappanee Apple Festival event in September Mike Ostrander shared. In a beautiful barn that houses Merlin Yoder’s amazing collection of tractors, pedals, and tools, drivers and onlookers were gathered dodging the rain.

Classic Green was at the event and Mike Ostrander said this had been in the works since last fall. “We hoped for 40-50 tractors but got 70 registered,” he shared.

He first imagined this as a spoker D event, but then decided to include all D’s. He would really like to do something similar next fall.

Plow Details

I soon found Carol and Richard Hain of Green Magazine there to cover this wonderful event. Tyler Bucheit and David Wolfe were also on hand and as soon as it dried off enough, they held a Plow Adjustment seminar showing the drivers how they should set their plows for the day.

Michael’s Prayer!

Before the meal Mike Ostrander said a prayer asking God to bless everyone on their way there, and on their way home! He asked God’s will for the day, and amazingly after the rain the sky cleared, and they plowed! Faith really can move mountains and dry wet ground!

For our meal, we had a wonderful Amish meal, and it was good, but ooooohhhh, the pie! Chris Boyens and I offered our services as tasters several times to no avail. I learned about a new fruit called Ground Cherry which the wonderful cook shared is a fruit which grows on a bush and tastes between an apricot and a peach.

Plowing

Out we all went to the field to plow after the amazing meal. It didn’t take long before the tractor owners had their tractors in gear with plows set and at work! Up and down the field they went with a scene right out of 1920’s! After lots of plowing, the drivers all gathered together for a group photo.

What an amazing kick off for one of the first Classic Green John Deere D Centennial Celebration Events!