Army veteran takes pride in antique tractor at parade
HARRISVILLE — After Jack Rinker of Prospect wills his great-great-grandson his 1939 Case tractor, it will have stayed in his family for five generations.
“Riding it and showing it off,” said Rinker, an Army veteran, is the best part of owning the classic.
Rinker, 78, rode the red tractor with pride as he paraded alongside other antique tractors and farm equipment at the Harrisville Community Day in the Park Thursday to celebrate the Fourth of July holiday.
Among the displayed tractors at the show were members of the Mercer County Antique Power Association. Festivities began with a parade, followed by carnival rides, vendors, food and entertainment in the park.
Rinker's father bought the tractor in 1939, which is one of the first years they were made, he said. After his father sold it, Rinker found it 30 years later and purchased it.
Since 1956, the tractor has been in their family, he said.
In 1966, he went into the Army and spent 16 months in Germany, a service he was glad to do, Rinker said. The sad part was leaving his wife, he said, adding he spent two sets of holidays away from his family with other soldiers who could not afford tickets for a fare home, he said.
Rinker describes Jan. 13, 1968, as a “good day” because that was when he got out of the Army as an E5 buck sergeant, he said.After 60 years of truck driving, Rinker is enjoying retirement and staying busy, he said.Every April, when Rinker gets the antique tractor out for the numerous shows he participates in across and in the county, his wife calls herself an “antique tractor widow,” he said.To prepare it for shows, Rinker gives the tractor a fresh coat of paint and a cleaning. Although it's an antique, Rinker said it can also plow.Every year the Harrisville community has had its Fourth of July event, Rinker has participated, he said. The heat would not keep him away from celebrating the holiday, he said.Often, youth do not understand the cost older generations paid for the price of freedom, Rinker said, and he hopes events such as Thursday's parade help show them the way.“Independence,” he said is the holiday's meaning.
