Attending Goessel’s Country Threshing Days has been a tradition of Lucas Hiebert’s for as long as he can remember.
In recent years, that tradition has included driving a tractor in the Threshing Days parade.
A Goessel native, Hiebert said his father, Myron, bought him his first tractor following his seventh grade year in school, and he’s driven a tractor in the parade ever since.
Hiebert bought his first tractor after his freshman year of high school. Now, he has four tractors, including a 1950 John Deere Model “A” that he restored.
He began restoration his junior year of high school, a process which involved tearing the tractor down to the main chassis, then painting, sand-blasting and putting it back together.
“Of course, it doesn’t always go back together as easily as it comes apart,” he said with a smile. “That’s just how it goes.”
He completed the year-and-a-half-long project by his graduation from Goessel in 2015.
Hiebert said he first became interested in tractor restoration when his brother and a cousin restored two of his grandfather’s tractors.
“I like doing stuff with my hands, so that is something I really enjoy working on and doing,” he said, adding that in addition to the tractor he restored, he owns a 1947 Allis-Chalmers Model “C” and a second John Deere “A.”
“I like those two-cylinder ones,” he said.
Hiebert currently works for Funk Electric in Goessel and is preparing to leave for a two-year commitment with Mennonite Central Committee’s Mobile Meat Canner. He said he anticipates his travels during to take him to 15 states and Canada.
When asked if he envisions farming in his future, Hiebert said:
“For sure. Of course, I can’t do it this young, but once I’ll be able to, that’s what I want to do.”
