JEROMESVILLE, Ohio — The Hillsdale FFA chapter held its annual summer picnic Aug. 22. There were 43 members along with their families gathered to celebrate the end of summer and the beginning of a new school year. A potluck meal, directed by Zoey McBride, was enjoyed by the attendees.
The chapter would like to congratulate sophomore Olivia Burgess for being named the FFA Member of the Month. Under the direction of Zoey McBride, the Hillsdale FFA chapter officers planned and conducted activities for the members to build relationships with other members and officers.
To finish out the evening, the students and families had free time to socialize and swim. The Hillsdale FFA would like to thank Bill and Kim Rogers for hosting and DR tent rental for donating the tent, chairs and tables.
• • •
MILLERSBURG, Ohio — The National FFA Organization has announced that four members of the West Holmes FFA will be receiving their American FFA Degree in October. Graduates Jayme Pennell, Rebecca Sprang, Addison Yates and Clay Shepler will receive the highest degree an FFA member can be awarded at the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis.
Pennell worked for Loudonville Equity and had an environmental science project where he converted a crop field back into a wildlife habitat. Sprang worked on a dairy farm and also raised her own sheep, hogs and dairy cattle. Yates worked on a dairy farm. Shepler worked for an excavating company and raised pigs for the fair.
Miss Bradi Rex is visiting the West Holmes FFA to shadow Jaime Chenevey for her early field experience in order to become an agriscience educator. Rex is currently in her second year at the Ohio State University Agricultural Technical Institute studying agricultural education, and she plans to finish her degree in Columbus at the main campus.
She lives on a farm where her family runs a 200-head cow-calf operation. Rex is a Morgan FFA alumnae who has received her American Degree and wants to continue to work in the agricultural field as a high school ag teacher.
• • •
WEST SALEM, Ohio — Northwestern-Wayne FFA attended Ohio FFA Camp Muskingum recently. Chapter members Mallory Gilbert and Jadeyn Berry had the opportunity to meet new members from other FFA chapters from all over Ohio.
Some of the activities they took part in were team bonding events such as flag racing, canoeing, fishing, paddle boarding and more. Throughout the activities, students were able to learn about the history of our FFA while working with others to develop teamwork and responsibility.
• • •
COLLINS, Ohio — Holden Nuhn, a 2022 graduate of Western Reserve High School and son of Jeff Nuhn and Wendie Parsons-Nuhn, recently completed another antique tractor full restoration.
Nuhn, of rural Collins, Ohio, was featured on the cover of Vintage Tractor Digest less than a year ago with his showroom quality restoration of a 1950 Farmall C.
This year, on Aug. 14, Nuhn completed a restoration of a 1956 Farmall 400. He began this restoration on March 2 and raced against the clock with several issues. There were a few hard and fast deadlines to meet that served as motivation.
First of all, he had entered his project into the local Huron County Fair as a “Refurbished Power” project, which started on Aug. 15. Second, he wanted to enter this tractor into a national contest known as the Chevron Tractor Restoration Contest, which also had a submission deadline of Aug. 15. The contest is open to high school students or younger, and this was Nuhn’s final year of eligibility.
Of course, as with any large project, there were also several setbacks. Supply chain issues, such as the inability to find locally sourced, quality agricultural tires, were just one of those setbacks. Parts rusted and worn beyond being salvageable turned into trying to order parts that were “NLA” (No Longer Available).
Improper parts and “out of stock” bearings and seals were more of a norm than a rare occurrence. The nationwide shortage of gear oil couldn’t have come at a more inopportune time. But time was “of the essence” and with zero time to spare, Nuhn was able to test and tune the tractor in order to shoot the short video required for submission to enter the national Chevron competition.
Nuhn’s 1956 Farmall 400 was exhibited the following week at the Huron County Fair, where it earned “Best of Show” honors.
Nuhn’s previous restoration of the Farmall C landed him as a finalist in the 2021 National contest formerly known as the Delo Tractor Restoration Contest. He was invited to Indianapolis, where the final leg of judging was conducted based on a one-hour presentation in front of a panel of vintage tractor and restoration experts.
In this portion of the contest, Holden was recognized as the “2021 Fan Favorite” by setting a record and garnishing over 7,300 online votes, but was not recognized as one of the overall top three nationwide finalists. He is currently hoping that he can, once again, earn votes as a fan favorite in the 2022 Chevron Tractor Restoration Contest.
In order to vote, enthusiasts can go to delotrcvoting.com and register an account. Once your account is registered, you may vote up to three times every 24 hours for the duration of the contest beginning Aug. 29.
Although Nuhn did complete approximately 600 hours of this restoration all by himself, he was supported by many local businesses through donations, materials, knowledge and many other means of support. He is currently studying agricultural education at Wilmington College.
