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Lawn Mower Catapult Creates Fun At Tractor Show
When Andy and Lisa Hinrichs held their first annual Garden Tractor Jamboree on their Illinois farm last year, nothing created more fun and excitement than the "Tractor-Pult" they used to catapult lawn mowers up to 75 ft. through the air. "People love to watch destruction as long as no one gets hurt," Hinrichs laughs.
    The idea for the Tractor-Pult came from hearing about the popular pumpkin chucking contests held around Halloween each year. Hinrichs and his friend, Duane Napper, first built a small model and then used old county plow trucks springs to build a full-size model. He and his friends spent a few Sundays testing it before the show. Stripped down MTD garden tractors didn't go very far, but stripped push mowers sailed about 75 ft. before landing. At the show, the crowd responded the best to bowling balls pelting a stack of mowers.
    The Hinrichs started collecting garden tractors 10 years ago. After turning their barn into a mini museum to house their collection, they decided to launch their own show for other garden tractor collectors.
    This year's show will be held May 14th. There will be acreage available for plowing and disking and plenty of room to display hundreds of tractors and hundreds of visitors.
    Hinrichs notes that people collect garden tractors because they are small and require less room. It's also a less expensive hobby than collecting full size tractors. People who bring garden tractors get in free. There is a $5 admission for others. Registration forms for the event are on their website.
    Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Andy and Lisa Hinrichs, Hinrichs Custom Woodworking, 1675 S. Columbian Rd., Oregon, Ill. 61061 (ph 815 732-6551; www.hinrichscustomwoodworking.com).


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2011 - Volume #35, Issue #2