FRENCHVILLE, Maine — The Northern Maine Antique Tractor Club held their 10th annual Tractor TREK on Sunday, Aug. 13, combining enthusiasm for vintage machinery with aiding a good cause.
“The TREK is a fundraiser for Hospice of Aroostook as the Aroostook House of Comfort in Presque Isle,” said Phil Kilcollins, club president.
This year’s event began at Heritage Park in Frenchville, where the convoy assembled. The group of about 30 mostly antique tractors then headed to Madawaska for a rest stop, continued on to Pelletier Island in St. Agatha for a barbecue, and then returned to Frenchville, a distance of 41 miles.
“To be considered an antique, the tractor must be manufactured prior to 1960,” Kilcollins said. “Each year the club does a trek in either southern Aroostook, the Houlton area, in central Aroostook, the Presque Isle area or in northern Aroostook, the St. John Valley.”
Established in 2008, the Northern Maine Antique Tractor Club is a family-oriented organization with currently over 300 members, focused on the preservation of rural heritage and restoration of the “old tractors,” equipment and related items that were used in the farming industry by past generations.
It is the club’s mission, Kilcollins said, to build an awareness of local agricultural heritage for present and future generations in northern Maine and New Brunswick.
The club also hosts tractor pulling events throughout Aroostook County, one of which was held during the annual Ploye Festival.
Among its members are area residents Dr. John Bouchard, a John Deere enthusiast, and James Pelletier, a Farmall enthusiast. They own the tractors next to Frenchville’s Heritage Park.
