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But last month handful of local antique tractor enthusiasts were among the more than 650 who made the crossing to the pocka-pocka sound of old farm tractors.

"It was a once-in-a-lifetime trip," said Albert Pearsall Jr., of Caro. He and five other members of the Thumb Two-Cylinder Club were among the 200 antique tractor owners who paraded through downtown Mackinaw City before being joined by an additional 450 tractors for the long, slow ridge across the Big Mac.

Based in the tiny farming community of Ubly, the Thumb Two-Cylinder Club has more than 400 members from across the state. Pearsall said they're all John Deere fans.

"They've always been number one. They've never been bought out. They've never merged," he said. Pearsall said his club members are particularly fond of the distinctive popping sound made by John Deere's pre-1960s machines.

"It brings back the nostalgia of it all," said Pearsall, who owns five two-cylinder Deeres -- two of which he still actively uses on his farm.

Dean Steiner, bridge services manager for the Mackinac Bridge Authority, said when the owners of Owosso Tractor Parts, the organizers of the event, first approached bridge officials, he expected to see a few hundred tractors at best. He noted the Truck Parade of Lights, which is in its 13th year, only drew 100 semis.

"I never knew there were so many tractors," he said.

While most Michigan residents are aware of the Labor Day Bridge Walk, which has taken place annually since the bridge opened to traffic in 1957, there are actually several special bridge crossings every year. Among them are a jog on Memorial Day weekend, summer and fall bike tours, a Corvette parade and now the tractor parade.

With the exception of the Labor Day event, the bridge events are limited to one of the bridge's four traffic lanes. Steiner said that while the Antique Tractor Crossing when well, members of the Mackinac Bridge Authority haven't made a decision about making it an annual event.

Joining Pearsall for the crossing were Lapeer's Mary Miela, a self-described "tractor groupie" and her friend Cal Schultz from Silverwood, which straddles the Lapeer /Tuscola county line.

Schultz, who retired from General Motors 20 years ago when the company closed its foundry in Pontiac, said he got his first tractor, a 1941 John Deere Model H from its original owner in Ortonville to ride in parades. Of course, he said, "One you've got one, you've got to have two" and now he has a 1948 Model B.

He said driving the Model B across the bridge was "a little scary." Adding, "We went across on the black top outer lane. If we'd gone on the grate, it would have been a lot more spooky." As it was, he said, a group of boats that followed the tractors across the straits looked only six inches long from the bridge deck.

Schultz called the bridge drive a chance of a lifetime. "It's never been done before and it might never be done again."

Bob Sweeny, the bridge authority's executive secretary, said he expected "maybe 50" tractors when promoters first approached him last winter. He said despite ballooning quickly to more than 600 vehicles, "it worked out pretty well."

Miela said she crossed the bridge four times ferrying trucks and trailers across, but didn't actually ride a tractor herself.

Though it was a cold, windy day, Persall said being 199 feet above the Straits of Mackinaw didn't bother him. "I was more involved watching the ships go by," he said. "I was just caught up in the event."

While it only took the six tractors from the Thumb Two-Cylinder Club a half hour to cross the bridge, it took three hours for the last of the tractors to make their way into St. Ignace.

After crossing the bridge, club members made their way to the Kewadin Shores Casino for a tractor show.

Given the cost of fuel, Pearsall said it will probably be a one-time event for him. "We used to have 30 people show up for parades, but fuel costs are really hurting," he said.

The Thumb Two-Cylinder Club holds four meetings a year at the St. John the Evangelist Parish Hall, 4470 North Washington Street, Ubly. The next one will be at 7 p.m. Oct. 19. For more information, call Pearsall at (989) 683-2857.

Phil Foley may be reached at (810) 664-0811, Ext. 8148 or pfoley@lapeergroup.com.