Antique tractors relaying through Sidney

On Saturday June 1, the Nebraska Antique Farming Association will take part in the 100-year celebration of the nations first coast-to-coast highway. Starting in Pine Bluffs, Wyo. they will follow the Lincoln Highway to Missouri Valley, Iowa traveling through Sidney on Saturday and stopping for the night.

The tractor’s trek will start at 7 a.m. in Pine Bluffs and make its way to Sidney by 6 p.m. With a police escort through downtown Sidney, the tractors will make their way to Cabela’s then to the Tourism office's log cabin. Here the public is invited to come and view the antique machines.

On Sunday the parade of tractors will restart their journey to Missouri Valley at 8 a.m., rumbling to their next stop, Ogallala. Some 30 tractors will start in Pine Bluff but only 15 will continue on from Sidney, joined by 17 new antique tractor owners from the area. At the lead on Sunday will be J.R. Barkell on his 1945 John Deer B tractor.

The Lincoln Highway named after President Lincoln was the idea of entrepreneur Carl Fisher who owned and developed the Indianapolis 500 racetrack and developer of Miami Beech from swampland. His idea was to have a more improved roadway that would travel from coast to coast, San Francisco to New York. Named the Coast-to-Coast Rock Highway it was Henry Joy President of Packard Automobiles who suggested that the highway be named after President Lincoln.

Communities were asked to help in the development of the highway and today you can still see some of the historic structures and roadway. For more information about the Antique Farm Tractor Relay visit http://www.antiquefarming.org.