•arming, Saturday, June 9,1984
i—Lancas
u
Tractors , trucks strut
their stuff at Butler Mall
BY BARBARA RADER
Staff Correspondent
BUTLER For the first time,
tractors and trucks were on
display at the Butler Mall, as
members of the Western Pa.
Tractor and Truck Pullers
Association showcased their fire
breathing machinery during a
recent Mall show for all to see.
Vehicles competed for the
viewing public's votes to receive
honors'in each of the truck and
tractor categories. Joseph Pullano
Jr., of Butler, was on hand to
represent Professional Technology
of America, Inc., and to present
$l5O-worth of the company’s Pro-
Tec lubrication to winning en
trants.
Best of Show winners were Scott
Ketterer, Zelienople, with his 1963
Farmall 560 tractor, and Ches
Nicklas of Renfrew with a 1978
GMC 4WD truck. Both successful
pullers in their respective classes,
Ketterer and Nicklas displayed
numerous trophies and awards
with their machinery.
Ketterer acquired his Farmall
four years ago, and pulls in the
560, named "Best of Show” at the Butler Mali's Western Pa
Tractor and Truck Pullers Association's display.
Tobacco
assessment
WASHINGTON, D.C.
Burley tobacco
producers will be called
upon to participate in
the no-net-cost program
by contributing 9 cents
per pound on all tobacco
sold in 1984, a U.S.
Department of
Agriculture official has
said.
Everett Rank, ad
ministrator of USDA’s
Agricultural Stabilizat
ion and Conservation
Service, said the 9-cent
assessment is necessary
to cover projected
government losses on
the 1984 crop, plus a
portion of the losses
expected on the 1983
crop.
The remainder of the
projected 1983 losses
will be covered by
assessments in future
years after the initial
impact of the program
is analyzed, he said.
Producers who elect
not to contribute to the
no-net-cost program
will not be eligible for
price support loans on
their 1984-crop burley
tobacco, Rank said.
5.500 and 7,500 modified stock
classes. His wins include a third
place in state competition, and a
first-place in 7,500-class Northwest
Pulling Club competition.
Ches Nicklas’ jet-black winning
truck entry named “The Un
dertaker” attracted plenty of
attention. Pulling since 1976,
Nicklas says his GMC 4x4
generates about 500 horsepower
from its 402-cubic-inch engine. The
truck competes in the 5,500 and
6.500 super stock classes.
A 1929 John Deere GP named
“Flower Power” was the oldest
tractor on display. Owned by
Vernon “Boff” Foertsch of
Saxonburg, and well-known on the
pulling circuit, the tractor is,
“mainly retired now, but she’s still
used in various parades and
sometimes on the farm,” ac
cording to Foertsch.
Among other entries was a
homemade tractor owned by Bill
Larimer, Jr., of Hadley. Sporting
twin 460-cubic-inch Ford engines,
the tractor’s huge rear tires nearly
prevented its crew from wedging it
through the mall lobby.
Young Bill was introduced to the
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The Limitation of Warranty and remedy appearing on the label
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Des Moines. lowa, USA
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Randy Kummer, vice-president PA and organizer of the tractor and truck
display at the Butler Mall, shows off his 1959 Allis-Chalmers Dl7 gas tractor.
sport of pulling through his father,
Bill Sr.,who began competing in
1954. The father-son team has won
many competitions sponsored by
the Northwest Tractor Pullers
Association, and the Western Pa,
organization.
The smallest tractor on display
was a mini-modified, Chevy
powered unit called “The Mule”.
Owned by Mark Kozma of Sarver,
the tractor boasts 600 horsepower
and competes in both the mini
modified and open classes.
Randy Rummer, the event’s
organizer and vice-president of the
Western Pa. Tractor and Truck
Pullers Association, noted that the
WPTTPA got its start in 1979, and
currently has about 200 members.
The group is run by nine directors,
all but three being active truck or
tractor pullers.
The Association’s 47,000-pound
sled was fabricated from a Mack
truck and is available on a rental
basis by contacting Rummer.
Anyone participating in a pulling
event using the WPTTPA sled and
(Turn to Page Dll)
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fir i
It takes a wide set of tires to tame all the “horses"
generated by Bill Larimer's twin 460-cubic-inch Ford engines.
Standing with the homemade tractor is Bill's father, Bill, Sr.,
a veteran of 30 years on the pulling circuit. _
1177
m.
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