MALLAIG – Mallaig’s Cabrini Park was packed with a record number of tractors, cars, trucks and bean bag teams on Saturday, as crowds of visitors chose their favourites from the huge array of four-wheeled competitors and cheered family and friends on at the fourth Cabrini Cup.
The day started out with a well-attended pancake breakfast at Mallaig and District Museum. Then, the action moved south to the park, where the sign-up volunteers reported double recent years’ registrations, with 48 tractors, ranging in age from a 1928 Case to a 1978 John Deere, and 60 vehicles, from a 1929 Ford truck to a 2020 Jeep Rubicon were all lined up for inspection by the admiring public, many stopping to chat with the owners who were happy to share the stories of their prized possessions.
Forty-four teams, reportedly the most in a long time, had signed up for the bean bag tournament by its 11 a.m. start, and took their turns tossing at eight sets of targets.
Games slowed down and the lineups at the wood-fired pizza oven and burger barbecue almost disappeared as all but four of the tractors cranked into motion and spectators surged to line the streets to cheer on their favourite drivers and collect candy from the 1 p.m. tractor parade.
The parade circled the hamlet before returning to the park to await the final count of votes and presentation of a row of unique trophies, locally created by Amyotte Welding Ltd.
Four of those trophies were presented to two local residents who each had five tractors in the show, and who had worked together on numerous restoration projects. Clarence Smith took first prize in the ‘tractors’ competition with his 1950 Ford, while Laurier Dechaine received second prize for one of his shiny Farmall lineup.
Smith was back up to accept his second trophy for first place in the ‘truck’ competition, earned by the oldest vehicle in the lineup, a well-worn and original condition 1929 Ford truck. Second place in that category went to another Ford, this one a 1996 model shown by Mark Vance.
Dechaine’s second trip to the trophy presentation was to pick up the first place trophy for his original mint condition 1965 Plymouth Sport Fury convertible, Ian and Dorothy Wilson claiming second prize with their 1957 Ford with its unique retractable hardtop.
The vehicle receiving the most votes, however, was a 1959 Mercury truck, shown by Daniel St. Arnault for the People’s Choice trophy.
Playoff rounds for the Cabrini Cup were about to get underway at that point, with the eight top teams playing off, and the Little D’s defeating the Holy Queens, and the Bosses of the Toss, and the Beanie Weenies, defeating the Sharpe Shooters and Hard Core Corn Stars, to come together in the final, where the Little D’s were declared the winners, before both competitors and fans wound up the day with a beef-on-a-bun supper.
