This story by Liberty Darr was first published by Charlotte News on Oct. 16.
Carrie Spear had a vision more than two decades ago: a train of tractors parading through town. Since then, that vision has taken on a life of its own.
Spear had just bought the Spears Corner Store in 2001 when Joe Bean, a well-known farmer in town, parked his “beautiful, rusty” tractor in the parking lot. At that time, Spear was looking to add some fun into the town and into her own life, knowing that much of it would soon be consumed with managing her new business venture.
So, Bean’s serendipitous trip to the store couldn’t have been better timed. She looked at him and said, “Want to have a tractor parade?”
To which Bean responded, “Well, not with that tractor.”
“It’s the gosh-honest truth,” Spear said last week. “I’m standing there a month into store keeping, not having a clue what the future would hold, and he drives up, this big old farmer, rough voice. It was just a beautiful scenario.”
The first East Charlotte Tractor Parade was held in 2001, and although it took some years off during the Covid-19 pandemic and the flooding that struck the state in 2023, it never truly left anybody’s heart.
In fact, attendance at the parade grew so much that in 2019, someone whispered in Spear’s ear, “How are you going to reign this genie back into the bottle?” she recalled, letting out a laugh.
Spear has stepped back from helming the annual tradition and passed the torch off to a younger generation that has set out to keep the tradition going, hopefully, for another 20 years.
Terra Heilenbach moved to Charlotte from California 13 years ago. She remembers the tractor parade being one of the first things that greeted her upon her arrival in town.
“I came to the parade at a friend’s house next door to us, and just loved it,” she said. “I thought it was truly heartwarming. It just touches on something timeless that I think is really neat. And those kinds of things really appeal to me.”
She helped Spear with the planning and organizing last year, but when it came down to beginning prep for this year, Spear knew her time overseeing the event was over.
“A part of me was like, ‘Am I even the person to take this on?’ Because, you know, I’m not from Vermont. I was just kind of like, am I forcing this on this town?” Heilenbach said. “And so, I just started asking people and I saw how much of a part of Charlotte the parade is.”
From there, it was off to the races for Heilenbach. And this past weekend, with the help of some dedicated volunteers and friends, she successfully ran her first-ever tractor parade, complete with 60 tractors, more than a couple hundred spectators, a band and vendors.
While not everyone in the parade is considered a farmer, many of them are. But still, the celebration brings dozens of people, who have polished and rebuilt their rides for this very moment, including an older couple from New York who made the trek across the lake on the ferry, hauling with them four tractors.
Spear, who was enjoying the day alongside her community, is at an interesting juncture. Watching the parade drive by this year, she saw all of its earliest years, while simultaneously seeing all the years that are still to come.
Charlotte is an agricultural town, with the stories of generations of farmers ingrained in its history. A story about Charlotte would be incomplete without a story about the farmers who have tended the land for generations.
Without all the frills and fun, it is the stories of the generations of farmers that is the heart of the annual East Charlotte Tractor Parade. Aside from an event that makes even the grouchiest Charlotters crack a smile, the event is a giant tribute to who and what Charlotte is.
“I never set out to do this,” Spear said. “This is the people’s parade. And it just kept evolving so beautifully with the volunteers that I had over the years. I would have never been able to do it without them.”
