Tractor Relay Across Nebraska wraps up 2023 tour in Wauneta

Tractors on Main Street aren’t unheard of in rural Nebraska, but Wauneta residents enjoyed a special treat last Thursday with the 2023 Tractor Relay Across Nebraska, finishing this year’s tour in Wauneta.
TRAN, part of the Nebraska Antique Farming Association out of Curtis, started June 3 with a trip from Gothenburg’s Lafayette Park Campground to Lexington and back to Gothenburg. Stops were made at Heartland Museum and Mac’s Winery.
On June 4, tractors went from Gothenburg to Cozad before returning to Gothenburg.
TRAN left Gothenburg for good June 5 and traveled to North Platte, then on June 6 went from North Platte to Wallace with stops at the Golden Spike Tower and the Gerald Gentleman Station.
Tractors left Wallace Wednesday morning and stopped for lunch at the stone house north of  Hamlet, a limestone house on the National Register of Historic Places.
The 15 tractors on the last leg started pulling into Wauneta a little after 1 p.m. that afternoon. After a drive through downtown Wauneta, tractors parked at Wauneta Care and Therapy Center and drivers were able to visit with residents about the McCormick, Farmall, Minneapolis-Moline, Oliver, International, Allis-Chalmers, Case and John Deere tractors on display.
Throughout the relay, donations were taken for American Legion programs Operation Comfort Warriors and Gifts for Yanks.
The first TRAN tour was in 2012. Wauneta was a scheduled stop on the 2020 relay from Lamar to Valentine that was cancelled due to COVID.
Last year’s relay across the northeast corner of the state from Hartington to West Point raised $6,080.