Sunday was the annual Tractor Parade here in Roxbury Connecticut and it ended up being a perfect day for a parade.. I would share the history of the parade, but I don’t know it. Nor does anybody else I have asked, and there’s not much available on the internet about this beloved Roxbury tradition. I recall that it was once part of something called “Old Roxbury Days” and now it’s simply a parade. But what’s great about it is that almost everybody in the area who has a tractor enters it in the parade. Some tractors are wonderful antiques, some are massive hay-baling machines and some are riding lawn-mowers that are brand new. If it’s a machine that you can ride, you can be in the parade.
Photo by Joy Hodge
Some people really go all out. I love this tractor/float:
Photo by Joy Hodge
The tractors all lined up before the parade.
The ambulance was going to take up the rear of the parade, but since the ambulance isn’t actually a trailer, one of our EMTs, Mary Elizabeth, brought her John Deere. Isn’t she cool?
Here she is with Ron, another volunteer:
We decided to have the two most responsible members of our squad carry the banner, shown at the top of this page. They did an EXCELLENT job and only ran off with the banner in search of candy once or twice.
We filled our safety helmets with candy and walked along throwing the candy at the spectators.
Well, MOST of us walked:
Some members of our crew were riding their own tractors. Traitors!
Unfortunately, we ran out of candy before the end and we started throwing little packets of hand sanitizers to the children. We discussed tossing latex gloves and sterile dressings to the kids next. We were desperate – you should have seen their little faces, checks stuffed with candies, their bags bulging with treats, their eyes welling with tears when they discovered that the big ambulance people had nothing for them but packets of alcohol. So we stopped marching. Sharon, our organizer decided to jump in the back of the ambulance with Mark.
I climbed on board my friend Joy Hodge’s FABULOUS pink 1946 Jeep.
And there I met some new friends:
: 
It was a great, fun day, and at the end, I got to pretend that I owned the pink jeep:
I totally LOVE the pink jeep! My now 10-year-old daughter (26 weeker, 1.5 lbs) said she wants a pink car when she grows up, and I told her that pink was kind of hard to find. Guess anything is possible, huh?
1.5 lb!
It looked lovely day and gorgeous weather! Thanks for sharing the pics!! Look how long and lean you look sitting on that pink jeep! SuperModel!
Ditto what Bev said!
I love the idea of traitors via tractors
And that pink Jeep: COVET!
Hand sanitizers for the kids. Hilarious! Oh, those poor children.
It was a beautiful day for a parade. Such a nice community you live in.
What fun! The pink Jeep is perfection!
Thanks for the pics. I love to see the different towns. Luv it!. Quite different than the bustling bay area.
The Jeep is perfect for Breast Cancer Awareness, love it. What a great day.
I must have that pink jeep, sooo cute! Looks like a perfect day.
Fun stuff–Mary Elizabeth is ALWAYS awesome….and Joy’s Jeep is very cool.
The tractor parade makes me nostalgic for the Old Roxbury Days–ah well.
The children holding the banner are too cute!!!
Lovely! Just what I needed for my visit to Conneticut. Will be spending Sunday there on my way to the Poconos for my 25th wedding anniversay. Hoping to stop at the Hickory Stick Bookshop (if it is open on Sunday) pick up a map of Steep Rock Land Reserve and enjoy a nice hike along the old railway line beside the river, then to the GW Tavern for a Sam Adams from Joy…is that her jeep…my husband says we are spending our 25th stalking Ann Leary hehe! Thanks Ann it looks beautiful.
Sandy, If Hickory Stick is closed, don’t worry about a map if you PEOmise to stay next to the river for an out-and-back. Wear sturdy shoes since a short stretch of the road flooded, and while totally navigable, is a “bit trappy.”
About 1/4 mi. of the path on the west bank of the river is very narrow and rocky, so now you know.
DO pay attention if you veer onto a side trail
Cell reception is virtually non-existant. (There are stylized maps at the main trailheads, but the trail system can be confusing.) Hope you enjoy Steep Rock as much as my dog and I do.
Heck, you could even visit our daughter’s plant nursery next to GW’s….It’s open till noon and I’m standing in for her. Come to think of it, I could show you the trail to the Steep Rock overlook if you can wait that long and want to walk that far.
Happy anniversary!
Carol, I didn’t know that the nursery belongs to your daughter! Cool!
Sandy, please let us(me me me!) know how you like Steep Rock. I want to go there w/Luke on my trip to NYC for the marathon. I’m meeting my old friend from NH a little further north of there, so I’ve got a couple parks/nature preserves picked out for walks with Luke.
You natives of that area, please feel free to give me suggestions; I can’t wait to explore the fall gorgeousness.
Thank you for the offer, very generous. I can`t say for sure, however, I will stop in to say hi. Steep Rock looks great, hoping for a nice day.
oops! that was for Carol. I will let you know Denise, I`m sure Luke will enjoy it.
Steep Rock is great but some of the trails and even the road have been damaged by Irene and other storms. It’s a little tricker to navigate at present, but not impossible.
You can download a pretty good trail map (in PDF format) at the Steep Rock Reservation website.
Also, be sure to check out the railroad tunnel that was cut through the rock ledge to accommodate the now-defunct Shepaug Railroad.
Two great ideas, Alan!
It’s a pretty safe bet that the pink Jeep will NEVER be stolen.
Gosh Ann from Tony Bennett to a home town parade.. what a wicked good life!
I WANT THAT JEEP!!
That jeep is awesome
I grew up in a small town. Wouldn’t trade it for anything.
As a kid, I would have loved the hand sanitizer packets. But I was a bit of an odd child. Requested, and got, a stapler and date stamp for my 5th birthday (for playing library.) Shhhh….
Nice jeep. And lovely model perched on it.
That’s adorable Catherine. My sister was like you. She collected erasers.
Catherine and Ann, that’s good to know. My son always wanted duct tape, road cones and office supplies. We obliged and it was fun, but always wondered if that was weird. Apparently not! lolol
OOHH, pretty in pink! Pink like Pepto Bismol that those kids will be drinking after eating all that candy & hand sanitizer.