Allamakee County receives positive reviews as host location for 17th Annual Great Eastern Iowa Tractorcade
The 17th annual Great Eastern Iowa Tractorcade sponsored by WMT Radio completed its four-day journey through the hills and valleys of Allamakee County and some of the adjacent counties, covering almost 200 miles during its three different treks. Two different ventures covering nearly 80-mile routes Monday and Tuesday, June 13 and 14 were undertaken by 503 tractors, with Wednesday’s shorter 30-plus mile route taking only about half a day before the event was wrapped up that afternoon.
Renee Uthoff, Marketing Manager for WMT 600 AM Radio and one of the ride’s coordinators, shared that this year’s ride was “one of the best ever,” repeating that comment she said she had heard from many others taking part in this year’s ride. “We couldn’t have asked for a better reception, the law enforcement and public were very accommodating and the fairgrounds staging area has been great,” Uthoff remarked. “It’s been great working with Allamakee County Economic Development, and we can’t thank all the local volunteers enough for help making this possible. We couldn’t do it without them.”
In addition to the Allamakee County Fairgrounds area where most all of the tractors were parked overnight between their daily journeys, local volunteers were also concentrated at the various lunch and rest stop locations. The group stopped for lunch breaks in Clermont Monday and in Harpers Ferry Tuesday, with other rest breaks in Postville and Ossian Monday, New Albin and Waterville Tuesday, and Upper Iowa Resort near Dorchester Wednesday.
“Everyone has been friendly, giving us a big welcome and saying how happy they are to have us in their town,” shared ride participant Jack Goebel of Colesburg after the first two days of riding. “Paint Creek was beautiful. The slow, beautiful ride allows us to take in all the scenery.”
Many of the ride participants are frequently involved in such rides throughout Iowa and other parts of the United States, but most would agree that the scenery offered by the Allamakee County countryside is difficult to top. “The scenery is beautiful, and some of the houses we’ve seen are just incredible,” remarked Ernie Goebel of Luxemburg, who also appreciates renewing friendships he’s made during previous rides. “It’s great to see friends again on this ride after a year.”
Although receiving rave reviews, this year’s Tractorcade was not without its hiccups, the most talked about of which was the Tuesday afternoon and evening storms that rolled through the county. With those storms coming in two different waves, two groups of the ride participants had to have their departure from Harpers Ferry delayed until the storms rolled through, with some also having to take a more direct route from their Harpers Ferry or Waterville locations in order to stay ahead of the storms. Other than some changes in plans, no other difficulties seemed to surface from the stormy weather.
“We feel that the Tractorcade went very well,” Allamakee County Sheriff Clark Mellick said. “With over 500 tractors, it was a very good turn-out. Traffic flow went about as well as can be expected. The WMT staff was very organized and had done a great job with event planning and was very good to work with. We would also like to thank everyone for their patience while traveling on the three-day route. Comments from participants were very favorable and they very much enjoyed coming to our area this year.”
“It took a good sales pitch and a lot of convincing before WMT chose Allamakee County and Waukon as one of two finalists to host this year’s Great Eastern Iowa Tractorcade,” shared Ardie Kuhse, Allamakee County Economic Development Tourism and Business Coordinator. “I was told a decision would be reached by November 1, but when I didn’t hear anything I figured we weren’t chosen; so when they told me in January, I was surprised and elated. Then I worried as to whether we really could pull it off, but once the word was out, everyone (communities, individuals, clubs and organizations, businesses) all stepped forward with offers of help. I was very pleased when WMT chose to use local and county businesses and vendors to meet their needs. Lodging was the only venue that spilled over to our neighboring counties. Hosting this event definitely made an economic impact. When you have 700 people in your community buying gas and goods, food, using our motels and campgrounds three to four days and shopping, it stimulates business growth. Marketing our county to be a destination for events such as the Tractorcade could continue to add to future growth. So, how do we measure success? It’s not always about laying out the red carpet and thinking that is enough, it is more about what goes on in front of and behind the red carpet that makes or breaks an event. Our visitors commented many times about the friendliness of the townspeople and the wonderful hospitality shown to them wherever they went. Will they come back to visit - they said they would as they realize there is still so much to see and do here. ‘Best Ride Ever’ was the statement I heard many times over and that to me is the highest compliment we could ever receive.”
