Bakersville Homecoming set for Aug. 9-11
Tractor: Pictured is Russell Mizer, one of the pullers at Bakersville who passed away this year. The picture was taken about 1961. His tractor will pull Friday night, Aug. 9, and be featured in the memorial. Photo contributed to The Beacon
BAKERSVILLE – Every year on the second weekend of August since 1948, pies are baking, chicken is roasting and tractors are being made ready to pull in the Bakersville community. When you talk about a festival with three days of tractor pulling, you know you are in farm country.
The Homecoming starts on Friday, Aug. 9, with the chicken barbecue with serving starting at 4 p.m. The menu includes half chicken, homemade potato salad, applesauce, roll, desert and drink. Most of the pies are still homemade. Entertainment at the bandstand will be Wacky’s Country Experience, from 6 to 8:30 p.m.
The 30th annual antique tractor pull starts at 5 p.m. In this pull, all tractors are 1957 or older. Tractors are placed in one of three divisions: Stock, pro-stock or super stock, depending on how much they have been altered. There are 27 weight classes and the pull usually lasts until 2 or 3 the next morning. On a usual pull, about 225 pullers will pull. For information on this pull, call Larry Stahl at 740-294-4930 cell; 740-498-6491 home or Terry Mizer at 330-897-1205.
Many of the tractors that will be pulled have been in the same family for two, three or four generations. A lot of younger pullers also pull this pull as they can work on the older tractors themselves and don’t have to put as much money into them as the newer tractors require.
The community has suffered a deep loss with eight individuals passing that are connected to the fire department and/or pull. These individuals are: Lewis T. Reiss, Bob McClure, Dianne Mizer, Lewis Lahna, Mark Kerr, Richard Hothem, Lee Wyse and Russell Mizer. We will have a short memorial program in their honor around 7:30 p.m. at the pulling arena. Pastor Ken Smailes will handle the ceremony along with Larry Stahl, regular announcer.
Saturday, Aug. 10th starts with breakfast being served at 7 a.m. followed by three classes of stone-boat tractor pulling starting at 9:30 a.m. For Saturday and Sunday, there is no year limit on tractors. Good food will be served all day at the eat stand. At 1 p.m. will be the kids pedal pull at the basketball court. At 6:30 p.m. there will be a watermelon eating contest.
Saturday evening’s entertainment will be music by a DJ from 5 to 6:30 p.m. From 7 to 10 p.m. Haley Watson will perform. She is a great singer with a large following and will be sure to have something to offer for everyone.
Sunday starts with the annual community church service at 10:30 a.m. at the eat stand. The area churches take turns hosting the morning worship. This year’s service will be by Renner’s St. Paul United Church of Christ. After the worship, lunch will be served and then two more classes of stone boat tractor pulling starting around 1 p.m. For information on Saturday’s or Sunday’s pulls, contact John Ridenour at 330-897-5293 or the Bakersville Garage at 330-897-7561.
While the homecoming is an annual tradition where friends and families get together to renew fellowship, it is also one of the community’s most important events as it is the major fund raiser for the Bakersville Community Park and the Bakersville Volunteer Fire Department. Their continued existence depends upon funds raised during the homecoming to pay expenses thru out the rest of the year. The community welcomes you and hopes you come out to support it and have an enjoyable day.
Category: Arts & Entertainment, People & Places
OH MY YES HOPE TO SEE EVERYONE HERE!
Very nice article- thank you.