Tractor parade celebrates life of high-profile farmer
A line of tractors stretched along West Jefferson Road on Sunday afternoon, resembling a less visually stunning — but perhaps equally noisy — parade to celebrate the life of Harold W. Foertsch Sr., who died March 22.
Foertsch’s granddaughter, Brittany Speer, said about 80 people Foertsch met throughout his life made the 9.9-mile tractor trek around the family’s Har-Lo Farms. The 90-minute journey was hot and slow moving, but Speer said it fit her grandfather’s farming spirit.
“Pulling tractors was definitely a hobby of his, he loved to do it,” Speer said. “It was very meaningful and special on the community support my grandfather had.”
Foertsch was involved with the Butler County Farm Show, the Butler County Farm Bureau, Butler County Conservation District and the Future Farmers of America. Speer said he gave her an idea of what it meant to be involved and invested in the community, and saw that her grandfather’s dedication paid off in the end.
Speer also said Foertsch always was promoting safe practices when it came to agricultural safety and safety of heavy equipment on roads. She said he would have wanted her to relay safety information to drivers who encounter heavy farming equipment on the road.
“Whenever you are following these tractors, just be respectful,” she said. “When you see that slow-moving vehicle sign, following it is equivalent in time to being at two stoplights. Typically they don't travel long distances.”
Speer said more than 500 people attended Foertsch’s celebration of life Sunday afternoon, and many were members of the farm bureau and farm show. The impact her grandfather had on others was evident by the attendance at the celebration, and Speer said she is glad she got to experience it in Foertsch’s life and death.
“It was nice that the agricultural community could come together,” Speer said. “That was a big thing for him, and I understand the importance of giving back and that's what he always did.”
