On a mission for charity, more than 30 tractors departed from St. Ignatius Parish in Concord Hill Sunday morning to collect food and funds for local pantries.It was a soggy start for the stalwart Samaritans participating in the 12th annual Knights of Columbus Journey for Charity Tractor Cruise. But they had promised to go, rain or shine, so before 10 a.m. they set out in a parade of farm equipment to meet the donors and church groups across the southern county who were waiting to donate.This is the first year tractor drivers cruised in Warren County for the collection. The event began 12 years ago in Franklin County. Food and monetary donations are divided among the food pantries in the participating areas. A share of the donations will go to the Southern Warren and St. Charles County Food Pantry in Marthasville.Rick Mueller, one of the organizers for the tractor cruise’s northern route through Warren County, said the event went very well, despite the rain keeping a few participants away.Mueller said 34 tractor drivers traveled from Concord Hill, through Marthasville and Dutzow, then to Augusta on a loop that brought them across the Highway 47 bridge into Washington. He said the total of the monetary donations is still being counted, but the Warren County and Franklin County routes together collected 7,000 pounds of food.In each town they went through, Mueller said there were people ready to give.“There were not too many in Concord Hill because of the rain, but when we got to Marthasville there were people lined up along the road,” he said. Churches in all four towns the northern route passed through had also collected donations ahead of time.Mueller said he and the other organizers greatly appreciate businesses that supported the collection with support vehicles or monetary contributions, and law enforcement who escorted the tractor cruise.Next year’s date for the annual tractor cruise is Sept. 13, 2020.

Farm tractors cruise through Warren County Sunday morning, Sept. 8, collecting cash and food donations for area food pantries. Tractors were seen at St. Paul’s United Church of Christ around 11 a.m. after traveling from St. Ignatius of Loyola in Concord Hill. Their next destination was St. Vincent de Paul Church in Dutzow, then Immaculate Conception in Augusta before heading to Franklin County. The annual tractor cruise has collected $238,500 and 17,800 pounds of food in the past. 

Record photo/Cindy Gladden