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Published Monday, August 10, 2009 in Local

Photo by Sarah Fay Campbell

Turin’s long-time Mayor Allen Smith, who retired this year, will be the grand marshal for the 15th annual Turin Antique Tractor Pull and Parade, coming up Saturday. He’s shown here on his 1953 Ford Jubilee, just like the one he drove as a child on his father’s farm in Florida.

Retired mayor to be grand marshal of tractor parade

By Sarah Fay Campbell

The Times-Herald

It's that time again -- the 15th Annual Turin Antique Tractor Parade and Pull is coming up Saturday.

More than 100 antique tractors, from immaculately restored, shiny show quality models, to "working tractors," will make their way through Turin to the pulling grounds, where they will show off their might, and be oohed and ahhed over by tractor enthusiasts and children of all ages.

This year's parade grand marshal will be long-time Turin Mayor Allen Smith, who retired Dec. 31.

For most of the time he has lived in Turin, Allen Smith has been the mayor.

In 1985, he and his family moved to Turin, to live in the house where his grandmother grew up.

The Smiths settled down in Turin, after living in Dublin -- where Allen, who grew up in Williston, Fla., met his future wife, JoNell -- as well as homes in Valdosta and Americus.

Smith was assistant principal at East Coweta High School, and when the high school moved from the old Highway 16 East facility to Sharpsburg, he stayed on as assistant principal at what became East Coweta Middle School.

Smith had always had strong ties to Turin. His grandfather had operated a store and young Smith visited frequently.

After his grandmother died in 1956, her home sat vacant for years. But the Smiths would spend a few days in Turin each summer, keeping the house up.

In 1989, the woman serving as mayor announced she was resigning.

"A couple of people said something to me about running for mayor," Smith said. "I hadn't thought about it much until then.

"I decided well, my grandfather had been mayor for eight years, surely I could give some time to the community, so I qualified to run."

He won the election and served until 2001.

When his term was up, "I opted to step back and let some other folks come up. I was very pleased that two young people stepped up and ran," Smith said.

When Mayor Amy Starr resigned 16 months later, Councilman Harry Van Gordon was appointed to fill her seat.

When no one else qualified for Van Gordon's old seat, Smith decided to.

When qualifying time for the next election came around, "I suddenly realized, on the last day of qualifying, that nobody had qualified to run for mayor," Smith said. He decided to run again "to save the town about $8,000" -- the cost of a special election.

He's been enjoying his retirement, but has been quite involved with the Chattahoochee-Flint Regional Development Center. He hopes to also stay active with the new Three Rivers Regional Commission.

When he found he was to be the next grand marshal for the annual tractor parade, "that was a surprise and a very humbling experience," Smith said.

He will be riding on a trailer with his family and friends, pulled by his 1953 Ford Jubilee, driven by his son, Sam.

Smith just "stumbled upon" the tractor one day and decided to buy it because "it was like the one my father bought and put me on when I was 12."

His family raised cows, pigs, and row crops, as a sideline. In high school, Allen bought calves from his uncle's dairy, just across the road, raised them, and sold them to raise money for his college tuition.

He's always been a fan of the tractor parade and show. "I think it is a good thing for the community, because it is a part of the history of the community," he said.

The weekend begins Friday night with the street dance, sponsored by the town of Turin.

The event runs from 7:30 to 10:30. Music will be provided by Jim McKnight, and Boy Scout Troop 46 will be selling food and drinks.

The tractor parade begins at 10 Saturday morning, with the pull immediately after. Show tractors will be on display, and there will be hot dogs, hamburgers, and barbecue.

Tractors will compete in different classes, at $10 per pull. There will also be the toy pedal tractor races for children, starting around noon, said event organizer Bill Banks.

Anyone with an antique tractor who wants to be in the parade can just show up and start lining up on Will Banks Road at 9 a.m.

For more information, contact Banks at 770-599-3611.

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