Frenchman visits Grant County Fair
Manuel and Annita Cerceau, of France, with a John Deere M tractor owned by Quincy's Jim Buys at the Grant County Fair on Wednesday,
MOSES LAKE - Manuel Cerceau owns 25 antique tractors and five antique combines.
He grows corn and wheat, and raises pigs. He's also from France.
"John Deere!" he says in accented English as he's greeted by the Columbia Basin Antique Power Club at the Grant County Fair on Wednesday.
Cerceau, his wife Annita, and an apprentice named Alexis Collet are traveling the world, touring farms and looking at old farm equipment.
Moses Lake was their first stop on a two-week trip in the Northwest, touring the test plots for National Frozen Foods and visiting the county fair. Cerceau was looking to swap club baseball caps with the local tractor group.
Bob Buys, the secretary/treasurer of the Antique Power Club, and Art Stockman, a director on the club's board, discussed the fine details of antique equipment with Cerceau through a few interpreters, Wendie and Jacques Mason from Des Moines, and Roy Chapple from East Wenatchee.
The main conversation centered on a John Deere Unstyled A.
Despite the language barrier and through plenty of gesturing, Cerceau's passion for the history of farming was clear.
"I have a 1935 John Deere, a Farmall, an Allison. I have a Lanz combine," Cerceau said.
In fact, the name of his 550-member club in Europe is the Club Lanz de France.
Cerceau's own collection at his farm in the Loire Valley, two hours west of Paris, includes equipment dating back to 1924. One particular piece he mentions is a Deering 10-20.
"From here, we're headed to Ritzville, Priest Lake, Moscow and Genessee, then Walla Walla and Boring, Oregon, before we head back home to Seattle," says Wendie Mason.
Shortly after that, the Cerceaus and Collet fly back to France.
"We have a lot of stops, but Grant County spoiled them. They've really enjoyed it here," Wendie Mason said.