The Got to Be NC Festival features a large exhibit of antique tractors and farm equipment that draws the attention and admiration of festival goers each year. A signature part of the festival is the daily tractor parade that travels through the fairgrounds featuring these antiques and their owners.
This year, festival organizers named one tractor best of show and that honor was given to Eason and Martha Lilley of Williamston with their 1968 Farmall 856. Agri Supply sponsored this year’s competition.
The Best of Show tractor is chosen by a committee of three tractor enthusiasts that did not have tractors in the display this year. Event organizer Pat Short said the winning tractor is not always the prettiest or the shiniest one on the grounds. This year, he said, the judges were drawn to Eason’s tractor because of the story behind it.
Eason’s father bought the 1968 machine and he’s been able to hang on to it over the years, Short said. He’s been slowly working on it over the years and finally got it fully restored — with all original parts. A table full of memorabilia accompanied the winning tractor, and Eason was eager to show it all off.
“He was all about the details, and that did not go unnoticed,” Short said.
The Lilleys are members of the International Harvester Collectors Chapter 37 of Eastern North Carolina and have displayed their antiques at the Got to Be NC Festival since its start in 2008. Congratulations to the Lilleys on your Best of Show win!
