Dennis Ladwig comes to the Shawano County Fair tractor pull every year.
It’s a chance for him and his 1937 John Deere to compete against friends.
“Probably since 2003, we come every year,” Ladwig said. “We sit around and bet a case of beer with each other and have a pretty good time with it.”
Ladwig and his buddies spent the summer rebuilding his tractor’s motor, and for a while Wednesday the results looked amazing.
Ladwig originally went 281.02 feet in the antique 4,500-pound class. That would have been an outstanding distance had he not been later informed that the sled wasn’t set up correctly and he had to rerun the pull.
His second try went 245.86 feet and was good enough for third place. Corey Janke (258.90) took second and Carl Hock, of Bonduel, won the event, going 261.2 feet in his 1936 John Deere.
“Pretty good,” Hock said. “It feels real good. They have a good turnout.”
More than 60 tractors participated in 17 classes over the course of Wednesday night.
Hock, who has been competing in the tractor pull for the last 33 years, was one of the most successful drivers early Wednesday, also taking second place in the antique 3,500-pound race.
While Hock and Ladwig were old hands at this tractor pull, Bonnie Lettau was making her first start in her 1936 John Deere.
“It was a little slippery at first, but once I got going, it was all good,” Lettau said.
Lettau, who drives the tractor her father used in many tractor pulls, took second in the antique 5,500-pound class, pulling 245.02 feet.
The warm temperatures Wednesday didn’t hinder the tractor pull much.
“It’s a little warm, but the track hooks up,” Ladwig said. “I was surprised. For a while I thought it was going to be too slippery for pulling.”
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