The 8^th annual River Hills Antique Tractor Club Plow Day was held Saturday November 24, 2012, at a field on the Bob and Jim Clifton farm.  The field is located on the river side of the levee just north of Menfro, MO. 

Participants included those from the River Hills Antique Tractor Club in Perry County, the Lost Tractor Club in St. Genevieve County, individuals from Cape Girardeau County and surrounding counties, and some from as far away as Columbia, IL.  All told there were over 40 tractors, and six teams of horses and mules plowing the bottomland farm fields.  The oldest tractor was a 1935 John Deere D model on steel wheels, owned by Willard Hadler.  Plow sizes varied from the one bottom variety to larger five bottom plows.

The day started out windy with low temperatures; however, the crowd was dressed for the weather, and several participants made a family day of the event.  ATV’s and utility vehicles ferried relief drivers and spectators between the fields and the staging area.  The top of the levee and field edges were lined with spectators who brought their kids and grandchildren to watch, as many of them had never seen the old plowing methods.  Since the older tractors are not used much anymore on today’s modern farms, events such as Plow Day allow folks to see the machines exercise under actual working conditions, much as they did in earlier times.

Even though the ground was a little wet, which made for the occasional stop to scrape off accumulated gumbo, about 100 acres was plowed on the Clifton farm.  The group also plowed a large field on the Eugene Fritsche farm. 

Thanks to Willard Hadler, his son Craig, and grandson Sean for making arrangements for the plow area.  The Davis family helped with the food stand and set up the lands to plow.  Also thanks to a lot of help from John Muench, Steve Moldenhauer, and other members of the RHATC.  It takes a lot of folks to make a successful event and all the help was invaluable. 

Prior to the 9^th Plow Day next fall, The River Hills Antique Tractor Club also invites the public to attend their annual Old Timer’s Days, which will be held Memorial weekend, May 25-26, 2013 at the Seminary Grounds in Perryville, MO.  In addition, Saturday, July 27, 2013 will mark the 11^th annual River Hills Antique Tractor Ride, one of the top tractor rides in the nation.