Old iron rolling into Frontier Days

Moore County FFA Tractor Show will include vintage tractors on parade, tractor games, and kids’ pedal pulls

2:22 p.m. June 23, 2026

DUANE CROSS
MCO Publisher•Editor

It started with a school tractor day, a little local interest, and the kind of idea that does not stay small for long in Moore County.

Now, Corey Searcy is staring at a Saturday full of old iron.

The Moore County FFA Tractor Show is set for Saturday at Wiseman Park during Frontier Days, and Searcy, the FFA advisor at Moore County High School, said the event has already pushed past what organizers first imagined.

“The goal was 50,” Searcy said. “I’ve had a lot of calls the last two or three days.”

He thinks they could see close to 70 tractors roll in. Some interest has come from across the state line in Alabama. That is how you know a tractor show has grown legs – or maybe big rear tires.

This will not be a couple of machines parked beside a hay bale for decoration. Searcy said visitors can expect a wide spread: 1920s models, pre-World War II tractors, machines that may have been used during the war years to move equipment, and newer equipment, too.

“It’s going to truly be a tractor parade,” he said.

Around the square, back to the park

Registration begins at 7:30 a.m. Saturday at Wiseman Park. Tractors will be on display throughout the day, grouped by brand as much as possible. Yes, that means the John Deere people can find their people. The red, orange, blue, and yellow paint will have their say, too.

Owners will log their name, tractor year, and model when they arrive. Awards will be handed out, and during the parade, an announcer will call out each tractor’s year and model so folks watching will know exactly what is rumbling past them.

The awards include:
• Best in Show
• FFA President’s Award
• Working Man’s Tractor
• People’s Choice Award
• Pedal-Pull Champion

The tractor parade is scheduled for 1 p.m. The plan is to leave Wiseman Park, head up by the County Building, circle the Lynchburg Square, and return to the park. Given the expected number of tractors, Searcy said organizers may send them around the Square in groups of 10.

That is the kind of traffic jam Moore County can probably forgive.

After the parade, if space allows, the games begin.

Searcy said organizers hope to hold tractor games around 1:30 or 2 p.m., including a blindfolded tractor contest. The driver will be blindfolded while a rider sits on the fender and talks them through an obstacle course. A slow tractor race is also on the table, and possibly a trailer-backing contest.

(That may sound simple until you remember this is Moore County, where somebody will absolutely take a slow tractor race personally.)

For the young pullers

A kids' pedal tractor pull is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Friday on the Square. Registration and weigh-in begin at 5:30 p.m. Pedal tractors will be provided, though children may bring their own.

There will also be a kids' pedal pull Saturday during the FFA Tractor Show at Wiseman Park, with that pull expected to begin around 11:30 a.m.

Searcy said Daniel Gray and Dale McGee are helping provide a handmade kids' pulling sled that does not get brought out very often. They will also help set it up and run the event. John LaCook is also helping with the Friday night kids' tractor pull on the square.

Saturday brings the whole spread: tractor games, awards, door prizes, food, family activities, and enough truck-and-trailer parking to make it work. Donations will go to the Moore County High School FFA program.

The real engine

That part is not under a hood.

Searcy said the tractor show grew out of the momentum behind the high school's ag program. The school’s tractor day drew attention, and families started asking what could come next. His father, Doyle, helped him come up with the idea for a full tractor show. Gray offered help.

That is how Moore County tends to work. Somebody has an idea. Somebody else says, “We can help.” Before long, 70 tractors are pointed toward Wiseman Park.

Searcy said the FFA program is growing, too. He expects enrollment to increase by at least 15% next year, maybe more.

“There’s a lot of interest in it,” he said.

He said about 20 students stopped him in the hallway to say they plan to take FFA next year and get involved in the program. Eighth-grade orientation also brought strong interest from students who may not have considered agriculture classes before.

“They want to be part of it,” Searcy said.

The tractors may be the draw on Saturday. The kids are the point.

It is not just polished fenders and oldest-tractor bragging rights. It is about getting kids close to the work – the tools, the land, the mechanics, the safety, and the people who still know how to keep a machine alive with grease, patience, and a good ear.

Bigger than one Saturday

Searcy said the high school tractor day will become an annual event, and the plan is to make it “a little bigger and better every year.”

FFA is also looking for more ways to work with Moore County 4-H and other student groups. Searcy said one idea is a farm safety day that could also involve HOSA students.

“We’re trying to really make it as big as we can and interconnect with one another,” he said.

Searcy’s reach is stretching beyond the ag shop, too. He said Coach Kris White recruited him to help on the football sidelines this year. For Searcy, it is one more place to show up for kids.

There will be room for a little friendly calling-out.

Searcy joked that Jonah Deal skipped out on the original tractor parade and may need to make it right this time.

“Maybe he’ll show up this time and be our Grand Marshal,” Searcy said. “I ain’t letting him live that one down.”

For more information or to RSVP for the tractor show, call or text Searcy at 931-434-2773.