CARLETON, Mich. – Chase Harvell rolled into the Airport High School parking lot Friday in southeastern Michigan one final time before next week’s graduation.
Harvell was driving a family vehicle, just as he had countless times before.
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This set of wheels, though, topped out at around 25 mph (40 kph).
Harvell and dozens of his fellow seniors eschewed their cars and trucks and arrived in tractors, ATVs, golf carts and more.
It was all part of Tractor Day, a celebration that dates back to the 1980s at the school in Carleton, Michigan, about 35 miles (56 kilometers) south of Detroit. Most students arrived by 7:30 a.m., but the fun was to continue throughout the day with games, music and lunch catered by a local restaurant.
The annual event is not only a fun going-away celebration for seniors but also serves to honor the area’s agricultural heritage.
“We’re just a farm school,” Harvell said. “It’s a tradition. Everyone’s done it before us. We just carry it on.”
The fourth-generation farmer on Friday was behind the wheel of a Case 305 Magnum, the same tractor used to till the soil where he and his family grow soybeans and corn. And the one his older brother drove to Tractor Day three years ago.
Myah Hoppert arrived bright and early in a John Deere 8300 that could practically drive itself to school at this point. The same tractor carried Hoppert’s two sisters and eight of their cousins to Airport High during past Tractor Days.
“Last day with all my friends,” said Hoppert, who plans to study nursing at Monroe County Community College next year.
Friday was “one final hurrah,” said Austin Neddo, who may hold the distinction of having the most vintage ride. He arrived in a restored 1940 Farmall A, a tractor once owned by Neddo's great-great-grandfather.
As class treasurer, Jocelyn Kleman helped organize Friday’s festivities, which she described as “our last recess.” She expected that 150 of the roughly 180 seniors were taking part in Tractor Day.
Kleman and two friends rode in on an off-road vehicle known as a “side-by-side.” She had looked forward to this day for four years, after, like other Airport students, only being able to watch the end-of-year revelry through classroom windows.
“You could just see how much fun the seniors are having,” said Kleman, who plans to attend Michigan State University in the fall. “What a nostalgic event this really is.
“And how much the seniors look forward to it each year.”