Triple-digit heat gave way to rain Saturday, but neither was enough to stop hundreds of people from turning out to support the Alpena Volunteer Fire Department's annual tractor pull and enjoy a full day of community activities.
“Every year you know the tractor pull will be either hotter than hell or raining,” event organizer and Alpena firefighter Chris Albrecht said with a laugh. 'This time it was both. All in all, it was pretty darn good. Really a good weekend.'
The day’s biggest challenge came long before the rain arrived.
Around 5 p.m., Albrecht said his wife, Amy, checked her phone and found the temperature had reached 101 degrees with a “feels like” temperature of 118.
“With that temperature and that caliber of nasty weather to deal with, we’re fortunate we had the turnout we had,” Albrecht said. “I want to thank everyone for dealing with the unbearable heat.”
By the time storms brought the event to an early close, 121 tractor pull entries had competed, leaving just 14 hooks unfinished.
Even in the sweltering conditions, organizers introduced a new lawn mower pull that drew about 80 entries and quickly became one of the day’s biggest attractions.
“The lawn mower pull was a huge hit,” Albrecht said.
The heat did take its toll elsewhere. Beer and concession sales were down, and only 15 children competed in the pedal pull.
“That was just too much heat for the kids,” Albrecht said. “Sure would like to see twice that many next year.”
Throughout the day, Albrecht said volunteers, sponsors and local businesses stepped up to help keep people safe and comfortable.
Employees from Red Hog delivered ice-filled buckets with cooling towels for volunteers, Alpena Coop provided free bottled water, and Scott and DeVonne Losing donated ice cream that was given away during the afternoon.
“Because of the heat, everybody pitched in and helped out,” Albrecht said.
That same community spirit extended to the event’s sponsors.
“Every time I walked through the crowd, I ran into one of our sponsors,” he said. “Not only did they sponsor the event, but they brought their families and supported it despite the terrible heat.”
The Alpena Community Foundation’s annual car show also remained a popular stop, drawing 32 entries. Foundation Chairman Rob Baruth thanked Alpena Coop for donating water and Scott and DeVonne Losing for providing the free ice cream.
Car show award winners included Kevin Weeldryer (People’s Choice), Larry Podhrasky (Participants’ Choice) and Tyler Mattke (Fire Department Choice). Complete results are published inside this edition.
Despite the challenging conditions, Albrecht said the annual fundraiser once again demonstrated what makes Alpena special.
“The Alpena Fire Department still did well,” he said. “We’ll definitely do it again.”