Just like the Pied Piper, John Cinnamon (farmer John) has, for the past 22 years, been leading his tractor parade through Winchester, always sure to make a stop at Dundas Manor. Tinkess Photo

WINCHESTER – 2026 is the 22nd anniversary of what started out as an idea that John Cinnamon wasn’t sure he wanted to be a part of. Fortunately, he stood his ground, and the antique tractor parade he organized way back when has become an important part of Winchester Dairyfest, but more importantly, a part of the lives of the residents of Dundas Manor.

Cinnamon was originally asked to organize a competition involving tractors. That idea didn’t last very long. “I had said to find someone else because there was no way I’m telling you that your tractor is nicer than the next guy’s,” said Cinnamon. “We could have a tractor show where people could have a look at them, but there wasn’t going to be any prizes or anything like that.”

The event started out as an antique parade and then it just evolved into a tractor parade. “We love to have the farmers come,” said Cinnamon. “And do you know what the highlight of it is?  Driving past Dundas Manor. They really get a kick out of it. They bring all the residents outside, and they make sure there are no cars in the parking lot. We go in the parking lot at one end and out the other and they’re all sitting there in chairs and wheelchairs and waving and smiling and they love it.”

Cinnamon says they try to get there at three o’clock, to make it easier for the Manor to organize. He asks that those who are going to be driving a tractor in the parade gather in the field north of the curling club about 12:30 p.m. so that things can get organized. This year, it worked like clockwork, with the parade starting to roll out around 2:30 p.m. and arriving on time at “The Manor.”

The weather gods have been kind so far: the event has never been rained out, although Cinnamon says they have gotten totally soaked on the way home a couple of times. This year it was a bit warm, but nothing they couldn’t manage.

There is no registration fee, and there is no formal registration either. The first year they had about 20 tractors and the past couple years the number has been around 80. This year it was also around the 80 mark (It’s hard to count when there are so many wonderful machines rolling past. I tried.)

There aren’t a lot of rules to follow, but there is one that is very important and that is enforced: no riders! Cinnamon says if the tractor has a cab with a seat, that should be okay but hanging on the back or sitting on the fenders, that is not allowed. “It’s a matter of safety,” said Cinnamon. “It’s easy for something to go wrong and we want to make sure it is a fun, safe day for everyone.”

A sad fact of life is that when someone does something foolish, even after being told not to, they frequently look for someone else to blame.

Most years it would be quite possible that Cinnamon could have 20-22 tractors in the parade, some real old, some kind of old, and some of current vintage. Some will be cleaned up real nice, but others will be, as Cinnamon describes it, “wearing their work clothes.”

And that for most people is the attraction. Each of these pieces of equipment has at least one story to tell, and that story often resonates with many of the residents of Dundas Manor. They see the tractors, hear the heavy sound of the diesel engines and the familiar smell, and it takes them back to a life and a place they once knew well. It is seeing how much pleasure it brings that brings John Cinnamon and his parade of followers back year after year. In the years I have talked with him, I have never seen his passion for the parade dip.

While the tractors can’t talk, if there are people like John Cinnamon to share their history, those stories will never die, and on one Sunday afternoon in August, for some residents of Dundas Manor, their story gets to live again.