Some would-be tractor men thought removing their shirts counted as special talents. Others thought flexing various muscles counted—and it did, for a few.
Flexing and posing were only part of the spectacle at the August 27 Tractor Men Calendar audition at Sliders Cafe in Carnation. The event, to select 12 Valley tractor men for a fund-raising photo calendar, also awarded personality points, based on candidates’ responses to an odd variety of questions from the judges.
“Are you a Dickies, Levis, or Carrhart man?” Well, it depends on what you’re doing in them.
“How do you like your steak?” With few exceptions, it was medium rare.
“Favorite place to take a date?” Fishing, mostly.
“Puppies or kitties?” Karl Christensen of Fall City drew groans and reluctant laughs from the crowd with his answer, “It depends on how you cook them.”
“If you could spend time with anyone, living or dead, who would it be?” Ryan Fisher of Carnation scored huge with the judges when he answered simply “My wife.”
It was Fisher’s wife who put him up to the audition, and made him wear his “fancy jeans,” he said, and although he blushed when he had to show off those jeans, he was laughing, right with the audience.
Around two dozen people lounged on the back patio of Sliders to enjoy the good-natured teasing and ogling of the auditions, which organizer Robin Woelz deemed a success.
Woelz, a Duvall photographer, got the idea for a Tractor Men calendar after the Carnation 4th of July parade, and with the help of some friends creating buzz on her Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Tractor-Men-of-Snoqualmie-ValleyCalendar/181649731895228?sk=wall), a logo from Kirk Werner, and lots of wives and mothers volunteering their husbands, sons and nephews, she pursued it.
“I thought (this) would be kind of a fun thing to promote the Valley,” she said.
Nicole Pitts of Carnation was master of ceremonies for the audition, helping to keep some of the more exuberant candidates’ “yee-haws” from ruining the sound system. Darren Baysinger videotaped the audition. Judges included Woelz’s niece, Karisa Beerbower, who will help with some of the calendar photography, Ashleigh Koback, Kaylen McRae, Christina Edwards, self, and retired teacher Dianna Board.
“Dianna actually contacted me on Facebook and said ‘I would be a great judge,'” Woelz said in introducing her, “and then a bunch of people said ‘yes, yes, she would be great!'”
In all, 14 candidates turned out for the event, and Woelz said she had two more tractor men interested in helping, who couldn’t be at the audition. She plans to shoot all of the photos in September, mainly on Valley farms, and have the calendars available for sale some time in October.
Originally, she planned to donate the calendar profits to a children’s charity in the Valley she said, but after talking to several farmers, she has added a farming focus. Beneficiaries will include the Sno Valley Tilth, 4-H, and Future Farmers of America.
For updates on the calendar, visit the Facebook page, or www.tractormen.com. You can also learn more when New Day Northwest airs a segment on the project later this month.
