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Treasured tradition will end this year
This will be the first year the
Romulus Pumpkin Festival does not
include the traditional tractor show, a
tribute to the agricultural roots of the
community.
The tractor show was started by
Robert (Bob) Youtsey and Melvin
Zilka, who planned the event careful-
ly and included farm tractors and
smaller lawn tractors in the annual
display. The first show took place on
the Sunday of the show in 2007, and
drewa large crowd.
The goal of the show was to call
attention to the number of farms and
agricultural businesses in Romulus,
owned by local families that provide
such a large percentage of food items,
like produce and dairy. The two men
worked diligently on the tractor show
and the display enlarged as a result
of their efforts. By 2015, there were
50-60machines on display at the festi-
val.
Each year, the show would end
with a parade led by Mr. Youtsey that
traveled down Goddard Road to
Huron River Drive and back to the
festival before the tractors were
loadedup to be taken away.
Mr. Youtsey lost his battlewith can-
cer in 2015 and the Tractor and Lawn
Tractor Shows for 2016 and 2017
were organized as a tribute to his
memory. This year, member of the
festival committee reluctantly said
goodbye to the display.
Members of the Romulus
Pumpkin Festival Committee issued
a formal statement in which they
expressed their sincere gratitude “to
charter members Bob Youtsey and
Melvin Zilka for working so hard to
put on a wonderful tractor show the
last decade. We also thank all of those
that participated and supported the
show each year,” committee mem-
bers said.
Bob Youtsey and Melvin Zilka began the Pumpkin Festival Tractor Show which began 10 years ago as a tribute to the
agricultural roots of the community.
