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Independence Day festivities carry into weekend in Marietta

Photo by Doug Loyer The tractor pulls were popular at the Independence Day Celebration on Saturday at the Washington County Fairgrounds in Marietta.

MARIETTA — The annual Independence Day Celebration was held Saturday at the Washington County Fairgrounds giving the community a chance to get outside, and have some fun and enjoyment during the holiday weekend.

The weather was hot and humid, but the threat of rain held off for most of Saturday afternoon. Later in the evening, severe thunderstorms moved into the area that canceled the fireworks.

“This is a one-day event,” said Kurt Bohlen, president of the Washington County Fair Board. “The celebration includes a club tractor pull plus mini modified and amusement rides, food and fireworks.”

The Independence Day Celebration usually is held the Saturday after July Fourth or before, depending upon what day of the week the Fourth falls on.

Money raised during the event will go towards the upkeep of the fairgrounds.

Photo by Doug Loyer Tryce Rollyson, 2, of Vienna, enjoys a ride on the spinning tubs.

There was a variety of food including, funnel cakes, Hawaiian shaved ice, fried cheese sticks, ice cream, hot dogs, BBQ, nachos and cheese and smoked sausage. There were also rides and activities for kids, but the tractor pulls seemed to be the most popular attraction.

“It’s been awhile since I came to this, but I like to watch the tractor pulls,” said Logan Hill who came with his family. “What’s not like about tractor pulls. I like the raw power and the noise.”

“This is our first time coming to this,” said Kari Rollyson, of Vienna, who attended with her son Tryce, 2. “My son loves tractors, so we thought we’d come to this and watch the tractor pulls. We were riding rides and waiting until they were ready to pull. He’s excited about tractors. He likes anything with a motor that goes.”

“We’re just here to have fun and put on a show for people,” said fair board vice president Brian Barth, of Marietta. “It’s just good clean fun and a chance for people to get out.”

Barth said that Saturday they were just stock farm tractors having a tug pull. As the tractor class progresses and they make good pulls, more weight is added to the sled.

Photo by Doug Loyer New this year were the RC (Radio Controlled) tractor pulls.

There were 11 classes for Saturday’s event, according to Barth, and they even had several young kids pulling, ranging in age from 7-15.

Something different this year was RC (Radio Controlled) tractor pulls that were held in the foreground of the grandstand area just in front of the big farm tractors. It was sort of like a miniature version of the regular tractor pulls. They had their own mini tractor pull track with plastic pipe as borders. Their scale was 30 feet (1/10th) of the large farm tractor track.

Some RC competitions have up to 30 divisions according to weight from 3 to 25 pounds, according to Lance Huck of Lowell, an RC fanatic since the early 90’s.

He is a member of the State Line RC Pullers that has an RC track in Lowell. Huck said there is a charity RC tractor pull event scheduled for July 20 at the Washington County Fairgrounds with proceeds going to the Alzheimer’s Foundation.

Christine Testerman, of Marietta, likes to attend the Independence Day Celebration because her family likes to come out for community events to have fun and to support the community.

Photo by Doug Loyer There were several food choices Saturday at the Washington County Fairgrounds.

And then there was Floyd Schmidt, of Rt. 26, who found a shady spot under the trees next to the track to check out the tractor pulls. He grew up in the Marietta area and returned in 2002 after living in Texas and being away for 30 years. He has a lot of good memories of Marietta back in the day.

“I came here when I was a boy,” smiled Schmidt. “It seemed like there was more activity back then. I grew up on a 65 acre farm and we farmed 120 more. A lot of things have changed.”

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