Tractor pulling, festival fun in Marshallville Aug. 28

The engines revving each fourth Saturday of the month at Marshallville’s village park isn’t anything to worry about. In fact, most of the longtime village residents are all-too familiar with what happens once a month, all summer long since the Marshallville Antique Tractor Pullers have been holding their popular Saturday afternoon events since 1982. And although the pulls take place once a month for five months straight, May through September, the one held Aug. 28 during Marshallville Historical Society Days is the most popular and widely attended.

“It will start at 1 p.m. and go on until it’s finished,” Marshallville Historical Society President Tim Twinem said. “Our last pull we got out at around 7 p.m. In the olden days, there were pulls where we didn’t get out until 2 or 3 in the morning. It’s not so much like that anymore, but the pulls are coming back.”

To enter the tractor pulls, drivers must enroll in a one-year membership with the Marshallville Historical Society, no matter where they reside. The cost is a yearly $15 fee. This is in addition to whatever costs are associated with the pull.

Females and males compete together, and all ages end up pulling against one another. Sometimes, Twinem said, even family members are trying to pull their tractors against each other.

“There are a lot of grandparents who pulled 20 years ago and are now bringing their grandchildren to teach them how to pull,” Twinem said.

And although the more entries each pull, the more volunteers needed to ensure the events run smoothly, Twinem said those involved are happy to do it to keep a beloved tradition alive.

“I run the kitchen. We have someone who is the announcer, and then we have another person who takes the registrations,” Twinem said. “When the pullers get done, they might help some of the others. Everyone has to pull their own weight and help out, no matter what you’re doing.”

That’ll go for the Marshallville Historical Days festival as well, which is run mostly by the same people involved with the tractor pulls, Twinem said. This year’s festival will take place with a soft opening on Friday evening, Aug. 27. The main event will happen on Saturday, Aug. 28.

Coming off the COVID-19 pandemic, when in 2020 Twinem decided it was best to cancel the Historical Days festival and MATP agreed and canceled the pulls scheduled during the event, this year’s festival will be scaled back as village residents begin to step back out into a bit of normalcy again.

“I feel we have to come in moderation and not full blown,” Twinem said. “That way it will also be a little less work on what few volunteers we do have willing to help put on the event.”

All events, unless otherwise noted, are to be held at the Marshallville Historical Society. On Friday evening, a beer and wine garden, sponsored by East Wayne Fire Association, will offer music, drinks and food. A car show will start things off on Saturday at noon. At the beer garden there will again be music, drinks and food, as well as homemade ice cream. The featured tractor pull for the month of August will begin at 1 p.m., and at 6 p.m. the Twang Cats will perform “a little bit of everything,” Twinem said. It is recommended to take your own chairs.

Because he decided to bring the festival back this year on a slightly smaller scale than what has been done up until the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, Twinem has decided to forego the annual parade, flea market and Lil Miss/Lil Master pageant, but he is optimistic they will all be back in 2022.

“We just needed to do things a little smaller this year and see how it goes,” Twinem said. “And it is always the same everywhere — you need volunteers, volunteers, volunteers. Sometimes I will get smack from people about why I didn’t do something, and it’s always the same — I need more volunteers.”

But it doesn’t matter how many people he has helping him. He knows everyone attending the Marshallville Antique Tractor Pullers’ event on Saturday, Aug. 28 and Marshallville Historical Days Friday, Aug. 27 and all day Saturday are sure to enjoy a bit of hometown fun after a year of not having any at all.

“You always get to see people you graduate with or just people you haven’t seen in a long time,” Twinem said. “It’s your basic small-town community event that’s fun for the whole family. If you want small-town flavor and fun, you should come on out.”

To view more specifics about entering the tractor pulls, visit Marshallville Antique Tractor Pullers on Facebook.