The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Volume 64, Number 35 Orono Town Hall 750 GST Included Wednesday, September 6, 2000 Ron Cowan's tractors are tuned up to compete this weekend in the 3,500 lb., 4,500 lb., and 5,500 lb. class categories of the antique tractor pull at the 148th Orono Fair. Ron Cowan claims his tractors run better than he does. And, he says, "it's a good job my wife has a sense of humour," regarding his passion for antique tractors, Cowan, an old farm boy himself, having been raised across the 5th Concession, says he has a love for anything anything motorized, as for tractors, tractors, it's the 'raw power' that fascinates him. Ron tinkers on his tractors, which he refers to as his 'girls' in the garage at his home on Church St. South in Orono. The first tractor to make up Cowan's present day collection collection was the '45 Allis Chalmers (C). He purchased this tractor in 1980, and the following year had a lot of fun putting it back together after his garage burnt down around it in January of '81. "Anything that was rubber was gone," he stated. His next acquisition was the '39 Case (L). It was one of the first Case tractors to be made in the U.S. says Cowan. The wheels were originally made of steel, which was later cut off and replaced with rubber. rubber. It has a dual start, which means it starts on gasoline, and converts to kerosene. "Being war time, gas was hard to get, and expensive," says Cowan, "these tractors were made to run on just about anything." Cowan bought this tractor back in 1990, and it took him 4 1/2 years to get it going, "a labour of love," he says. The '41 McCormick Farm all (R) is Cowan's newest tractor, purchased just last December This tractor hadn't run in 12 1/2 years, and was all seized up when he got it. The Farmall will make its maiden voyage on Saturday, September 9, 2000, at the Orono Fair. Besides having tractors competing in three of the seven weight classes in the Antique Tractor Pull, Cowan will also compete in the tractor games. The Heritage Farm Show begins at (continued page 6) f- A FIGURE SKATING CLUB REGISTRATION The Orono Figure Skating Club is holding registration September 12 from 7 to 9 p.m. at Orono Arena. For further information please call M. Blaker 987-7297 or Joan Moffat 983-9561. DURHAM COUNTRYWIDE ADVENTURE St. Saviour's Anglican Church is part of the Countryside Adventure, Saturday, September 16th -10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Sunday, September 17th -11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Enjoy our box ^^hes^e^hortakeo^^^^0aduKs^$Z0QchHdremj