New Tri-County Tractor Club Being Started This Weekend

Country living is built on pride, legacy, and plowing through fields as life continues to pass you by, and preserving this way of life is hard to come by unless you start a Tri-County Tractor Club!

For Lindsey Blezinger of New Ulm and her family, the idea of a tractor club has always been on their mind. “I have always had an appreciation for history. Antique tractors, cars, museums, etc., always fascinated me. As a mom, I want to provide my children with outlets to explore their passions. Even though there are 4-H clubs and other associations that can have aspects of tractors, this club’s focus will be on tractors and ag mechanics all the time,” said Blezinger.

The club will mainly cover Austin, Colorado, and Fayette County. “My brother-in-law threw the name out to me as a potential name, and it just stuck. I do want to say we won’t discriminate if you live outside one of the three counties. I just plan on sticking to having meeting locations within the three counties,” said Blezinger For its inaugural meeting, the Tri-County Tractor Club will meet on Sunday, August 10, at 2 p.m. at the St. John Lutheran Church Park located at 211 Hickory Street in New Ulm, and Blezinger said, “It will simply be a meet and greet, with a side of tractor. I really just want to get a feel for how many people want to be involved, so that I can plan future educational and social events.”

And no one is more ready to start the club than Lindsey’s six-year-old son Henry. “My son is very excited. He loves spending time tinkering with his dad or grandpa, so this will be right up his alley. The idea of learning about how tractors work and how to fix them intrigues him,” said Blezinger, who, along with a shared love of tractors, believes this club will also bring generations closer together and help them learn from each other.

“My father had always wanted to restore my grandfather’s tractor. My dad has never had the time to commit to restoring it, and now, with my dad battling Alzheimer’s, his health won’t allow him the time. We decided to buy it from him and his siblings for our son. It is a Farmall C, and my son will be the fourth generation to own it. I hope one day he appreciates having helped restore something that was once operated by his great-grandpa. Not many people can say that.”

Along with learning from different generations, Blezinger hopes the club helps people appreciate how much tractors and country living have changed over the years.

“This club is something my entire family can be a part of, even my four-yearold daughter, Estelle. I hope to have presentations of tractors, how they work, or how they were restored. By opening the club to everyone, male or female, of all ages, I also hope to provide an outlet for those who don’t know much but would like to learn,” said Blezinger.

Let’s face it, tractors aren’t made the same anymore. There is a lot more electronics and technology that go into the design than there used to be. So to learn all aspects of everything from a steampowered tractor to the modern tractors you see advertised will be beneficial to everyone. Even if you just like looking at the tractors like me. My favorites are the orange ones, by the way!”

For the Blezinger family, tractors not only plow fields, but they also have endless stories to tell. For Blezinger and her husband, Brad, these stories have shaped their future. “I grew up in the Welcome/ Bleiberville area. I was a Huebner before I married into the Blezinger family. My paternal grandfather was a farmer, and he was the first person I remember with a tractor,” said Blezinger. “I remember him harvesting corn in the pasture behind their house. I raised pigs for the Austin County Fair, was a member of 4-H, and have always considered myself a country girl. The first thing I learned to drive was a riding lawn mower.

“My husband grew up in New Ulm, and he has always been around engines, cars, and tractors. He currently works as a diesel technician. I have never understood how he could work on machines all day and then come home and work on restoring a tractor. I truly believe his happy place is tinkering with anything with an engine. I admire him so much for being able to figure out how something works and fix it. I am the opposite. I can solve calculus equations and balance an income statement. I graduated with a degree in accounting, but ask me to fix an engine and I am lost!”

So, start your tractor, put it in gear, and head to the inaugural meeting of the Tri-County Tractor Club this Sunday, August 10, at 2 p.m. at St. John Lutheran Church Park in New Ulm, and don’t forget to bring a picture of your favorite tractor to win a season pass to the upcoming Austin County Fair.