Sunburned and windblown, Jeff Newell, 56, and Ron Wachholtz, 62, sputtered along Main Street Monday toward the ferry terminal-ending the last leg of a roughly 4,600-mile trip by tractor.
Newell and Wachholtz drove their tractors from their hometown of Arlington, Wash. to Prudhoe Bay and back down to Haines at a roaring speed of 15 mph, all in an effort to raise awareness and funds for curing juvenile diabetes.
“We got all the smells, all the wind, all the rain, all the cold,” Newell said. “But there’s some spectacular things you see. At 15 miles per hour, with no cabin around you, you see everything.”
Diagnosed with diabetes at age 11, Newell said everyone knows someone who is affected by the disease. “It’s kind of a disease that lingers,” Newell said. “It takes a little bite of you. You live with it all your life.”
Diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States, according to the American Diabetes Association; more than 30 million people were diagnosed with the disease in 2015.
After diabetes killed his friend a little more than a year and a half ago, Newell decided it was time to try and make a difference. He rebuilt a 1956 John Deere tractor and talked Wachholtz into coming along on another newer model tractor. Each tractor tows a 16-foot trailer loaded with tools, cot, cookstove, spare tires, raingear, oil and, in Wachholtz’s trailer, two cases of Spam.
“He’s a spokesman for Spam,” Newell said. “Cold Spam sandwiches. I tried to fry it up for him. That doesn’t work. Once in a while I’ll have a little piece on a cracker or something, but boy not much. He likes Spam and peanut butter sandwiches.”
A sign on each tractor reads “Driving for Diabetes” in John Deere green and yellow, and lists their gofundme.com/johndeerealaska website.
“Why tractors?” Wachholtz asked. “People think we’re from the moon. They’ve never seen it before. They’ve all seen farm tractors but not towing them across country running down the road.”
Their tractors and trailer have helped the pair attract donations totaling more than $25,000 since they started the trip on July 11. Newell plans to double the final amount from his own savings and give the money to the American Diabetes Association.
“I won’t deny that it’s been a pretty grueling trip,” Newell said. “We’re pretty tired, I admit that. But we did it and did it in pretty good time.”
Newell picked up a hitchhiker in Alaska near the Beaver Creek border station. He rode on the fuel tank before disappearing later when they set up camp. “I gave him two big packs of Nabisco saltines and two cans of lentil soup and he ate that first pack of crackers like Grant went through Vicksburg.”
The Canadian border guards asked Newell if he had seen the hitchhiker who they called “Idaho Dave.” The next day in Canada, Newell saw Idaho Dave in the custody of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. “I could tell the guy was a little mentally off. But you have to have compassion for people like that.”
Newell and Wachholtz said their favorite sections of the journey were the Top of the World Highway and the road from Haines Junction to Haines. Although they had plenty of time to take in the scenery, driving a tractor at slow speeds takes a lot of attention, Wachholtz said.
“You’re a part of the tractor, the RPMs,” Wachholtz said. “It’s a chore to herd that tractor down the road. There’s no suspension. They’re just hopping everywhere.”
Newell and Wachholtz arrived in Haines on Friday evening and stayed at Haines Hitch-up. Monday, they drove their tractors onto the ferry that will transport them to Bellingham, where they will make their last tractor drive home.