The tractor’s windows were decorated with red and white marker, reading “Congrats Seniors” and “#weouttahere” when Hunter Kehoe drove it to his high school graduation June 11.
Kehoe, wearing jeans and work boots with his scarlet graduation robe, took about an hour to drive 18 miles from Green Mountain Hay’s farm in Charlotte to Essex Junction. At the entrance to the Champlain Valley Expo, which hosted the outdoor ceremony, he drove past a funnel of cheering teachers holding cardboard signs. School staff started the tradition in 2020, when the school held a drive-in graduation as a precaution against spreading Covid-19.
This year though, just a few days before Gov. Phil Scott announced he would lift the remaining pandemic restrictions, crowds of family and friends gathered in lawn chairs to cheer on the class of 2021.
Kehoe got hands-on experience in a few different trades during high school. But after three summers at Green Mountain Hay, he sees farming as part of his identity. He hopes to one day manage Green Mountain Hay’s operations.
“I’m a farmer, and I’m proud to be a farmer,” Kehoe said. “I just like the idea of taking a tractor to the last part of my school, showing what I do.”
