Compared to last year during the height of the pandemic and quarantine, schoolkids this summer are going to have better stories to tell when teachers ask what they did over their summer vacation. One ten-year-old in suburban Pittsburgh might just have the best of them.
Cameron Bush of White Valley, Pennsylvania can boast that he rode the lead lawnmower in his town’s 4th of July tractor parade, an event that he started and has grown in size in only one year.
“Last we started with two, but this year there were 16 tractors,” Cameron exclaimed. “I thought it was cool that a bunch of people joined. Maybe next year, it’ll go up even more.”
No wonder he’s excited. The whole parade idea started last summer when Cameron affixed two American flags to an old Simplicity lawnmower that his dad, Dave Bush, refurbished for him and, together with dad riding along in his ’69 Jacobsen, towing a wagon with Cameron’s seven-year-old sister Anna, they rode through town. It got such a good response from townspeople that they promised to do it again this year. And boy, did they.
People dotted the parade route, more than one mile in length, to watch the 16 tractors roll through town in a celebration of the joy of mowing and our country’s independence; the Bush family even got the fire department in on it.
“The guys from the fire department were really excited,” Dave said. “They had their allterrain vehicle in front of us for safety and the big fire truck in the back, with lights going. Everybody loved it.”
“Everyone was just happy to be doing something, excited about it. Especially the older guys. They said, ‘This is so amazing.’”
Cameron said his favorite part of the parade was pulling into the parking lot and seeing so many tractors and people. He never expected there would be that many. Three of his friends even showed up on their tractors.
“I was kinda nervous on the day, but then when we started doing the parade, I wasn’t as nervous,” Cameron said.
Anna’s favorite part was decorating the tractors. She also liked that the whole family came out to the parade this year.
“Cameron and Anna were truly amazed and proud of what our idea is becoming,” Dave said.
The family is already planning to make next year’s White Valley 4th of July tractor parade even bigger.
“We’re talking about closing off a section of that road and have a cookout and stuff like that,” Dave said.
“One guy said to me, ‘Ten years from now you’re going to be sorry you started that,’” Dave remembers with a laugh, imagining how big the now-annual event can become.
“Everyone that came out had a great time. It was just a really nice day.”