Money raised Sunday is going to assist with HPD Lt. O’Nan’s fight against sarcoma
Sunday’s Shake, Rattle and Roll Tractor Drive was the last one for the man who started it as a local fundraiser 18 years ago.
Jim Davis will retire from Independence Bank in November, and those associated with the fundraiser say it wouldn’t be right to continue the event next year without him. Sunday’s event was dubbed the Farewell Tour.
Davis said in Shake, Rattle and Roll’s early days, the proceeds that were collected went to the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life. In recent years, though, money collected has gone to people in the community battling cancer.
This year’s fundraising will go to Henderson Police Department Lt. Stuart O’Nan, who is facing off against sarcoma.
O’Nan, after having faced another battle last week when his lung collapsed, was on the mend Sunday morning before the tractors rolled over county roads on their way to Cairo Elementary School. O’Nan said the collapsed lung may have occurred because of the toll from all the treatments he’s undergoing on his body.
But O’Nan said Sunday he wanted to be at the event to thank and talk to people who came out for the Sunday tractor ride.
“I do appreciate that people are willing to support me and law enforcement in the community,” O’Nan said. He added that he’s got “a long road ahead of me but I’m getting there.”
O’Nan said the support extends to city and HPD officials who’ve told him he’ll have a job no matter what happens as he battles cancer.
Davis said the tractor drive usually raises between $3,000 and $5,000. Money is made by asking farmers to pay $30 to participate and selling T-shirts, he said. Anywhere from 50-100 tractors usually participate in the event, he said.
The first year, 34 tractors were in the drive; the most ever was 101 tractors which occurred in the event’s 10th year, Davis said.
The event starts with bringing tractors to the starting point, the Henderson County Fairgrounds, and then driving the tractors to a point in the county. Most recently, it’s been one of the elementary schools, where lunch is served. After lunch, they drive back to the fairgrounds.
Davis said he’s not sure what retirement holds—“I’ve never retired before”—and quipped that it had taken him a year to finally decide to retire.
He offered thanks to all those who came on Sunday and throughout the 18 years of the tractor drive.
“Some of them haven’t missed a year,” he said.
