Tractors on parade in Modesto, Ceres (with video)

A group of local farmers gathered Monday morning for the Great Westport Tractor Ride, an event geared toward celebrating their farming past with equipment used decades ago. They hit the road in their antique and classic farm tractors, driving into Ceres on East Whitmore Avenue to My Garden Cafe, where they met for breakfast. Thirteen farm tractors were part of this classic convoy, including Gary Thompson’s 1945 John Deere Model H. Thompson, a Modesto farmer, said they want to make this ride an annual Memorial Day tradition to maintain a connection to their farming roots. It’s also a good reason to maintain the tractors and keep them running. “(There are) a lot of old tractors still around the country, some of them still being used,” Thompson said. But the majority of these classic tractors have become obsolete in today’s modern farming world. Thompson says the annual ride can serve as a way for younger generations to learn a little about how farming used to be done.

This story was originally published May 25, 2015 at 4:48 PM with the headline "Tractors on parade in Modesto, Ceres (with video)."