That winter I spent many nights and weekends in Andy Battrell’s shop in New Vienna, Ohio learning from his John Deere mechanic experiences how to tear the tractor down and put it back together bolt by bolt!
On SI had my first pull at the Darke County Fair and placed fifth and drove off the track in one piece! You might say I was “hooked”. After a few weeks later, we purchased Brian’s tractor after he patiently showed and explained the “in and outs” of rebuilding the motor after you burn a piston. I should have known from my first encounter with Brian, who had just pulled and “burnt a piston”, that this toy, no matter how well I took care of it, was going to require a lot of hands on “putting back together” in order to play.Ī call home to my Dad expressing my excitement and interest in selling my boat and venturing into the world of tractor pulling began the pulling team partnership with my parents. He had been pulling the John Deere 4440 Super Stock diesel tractor called “Never-A-Nuff”, which at one time, had been owned and campaigned by Russ Mears. It was then I met Brian Stroud from Midland Ohio. I attended college in Cincinnati, Ohio, and in the fall of 2001 a friend asked if I would be interested in attending a tractor pull at the Clermont County fair that weekend. Little did I know at that time, that someday, I too would be pulling on that track at our county fair pull. Growing up on a farm, gave me plenty of access to tractors and machinery and I always made the county fair tractor pulls with my parents and grandparents one of the highlights of summer. I have lived and worked on the family owned crop farm all my life. There are currently more than 120 children in northwest Ohio who are awaiting their wish.Below you will find the history of how it all started one August day in 2001 from the Driver, Jeff Hothem’s Point of view…ĭellroy, Ohio is a small rural community in the Atwood Lake region of Carroll County. Research shows children who have wishes granted can build the physical and emotional strength they need to fight a critical illness. We are on a quest to bring every eligible child’s wish to life, because a wish is an integral part of a child’s treatment journey. Make-A-Wish® creates life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses.
Larry passed away at a pull this July.Ībout Make-A-Wish® Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana Larry helped make countless wishes come true and was a three-time Grand National champion in the Modified Mini division. This year’s event honored legendary puller, Larry Koester, a long-time supporter of Make-A-Wish OKI. “We’re well over that million-dollar fundraising benchmark and that’s an amazing feat.” “We love helping this organization and are just so very proud of the sponsors, the pullers and the fans that give to this,” said National Tractor Pulling Championships President Mike Erford. To date, more than $1.5 million dollars has been raised for Make-A-Wish OKI. Thanks to them, dozens of local children’s wishes are coming true!”Įvery summer, an average of 65,000 people come out for the largest truck and tractor pull in the world. “They have some of the biggest hearts we’ve ever seen and care so deeply for our mission. “We are blown away by the generosity of the pullers and fans who attended The National Tractor Pulling Championships,” said Make-A-Wish OKI Chief Advancement Officer John Carreon. The 53rd National Tractor Pulling Championships raised a record amount for Make-A-Wish OKI, more than $400,000. From THE NORTHWESTERN OHIO TRACTOR PULLERS ASSOCIATIONįor the 28th year, The Northwestern Ohio Tractor Pullers Association (NWOTPA) and Make-A-Wish® Ohio Kentucky & Indiana (Make-A-Wish OKI) pulled together to raise money to grant wishes for children in northwest Ohio battling critical illnesses.
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