The loud rumbling of tractor engines, smell of diesel fuel and sight of dusty jeans, John Deer T-shirts and faded ballcaps filled the field below the Ironton Hills Plaza Saturday morning as dozens gathered for the 15th annual Lawrence County Ironmasters Antique Show.

Steve Horn has been bringing out his tractors for more than 10 years. Horn said he keeps coming back because he just loves old tractors.

“I was raised around an old farm with old tractors and I just kind of got into it as a hobby,” Horn said. “It started with one tractor and after that I just kept adding to it.”

Horn said the farthest he has gone to pick up a tractor is Xenia, about a four-hour drive from Ironton.

Tractors are more than just a hobby for him however, Horn said he is trying to make it a tradition by bringing his grandson, Noah Carey, to the show with him. He said they were out at an auction early in the morning before going to the show, and while there Carey kept asking when they were going to see the tractors.

“I just enjoy the tractors,” 8-year-old Carey said. “My favorite part is, well I can’t really think of that, I just really like the tractors.”

Horn bringing Carey to the show, exposing younger generations to tractors and the lifestyle associated with them, and is a great thing, Leon Dalton from Pedro.

Dalton, who offers kid’s wagon rides behind his mini John Deer, said one never knows when the economy can really fall and more and more people will need to turn to farming to survive.

“This is a way of life, a sense of community,” Dalton said. “This is my second year here and I came back because my friends are here. There is so much diversity in the world it is hard to find people who share interests, and here we have it.”

People getting to know each other, coming together in a sense of community, that is what things like the tractor show are abou,t Dalton said.

Of course, they are also about people’s love of tractors.

The event consisted of a tractor parade which roared through downtown Ironton as well as a kiddie tractor pull and various afternoon games.