After his daughter Annie survived lymphoma as a high school senior, Dean Bettenhausen knew he wanted to give back.
He also wanted to celebrate the agricultural heritage of the area around his Will County home.
So with the help of supporters and survivors, the first Tractors for a Cure fundraiser was held in 2011 at his farm in Beecher with proceeds going to the American Cancer Society. The event featured farmers and other tractor owners parading their vehicles, offering rides and enjoying good, home-cooked food and entertainment.
“I had a daughter who had lymphoma and she was clean, and I thought it was time to give back,” Bettenhausen said. “Now she’s a school nurse in Dixon, so she is giving back too.
Bettenhausen said his daughter has a big heart and “is a hugger.”
“She said she got sick so she could help people,” he said.
Over the years, Tractors for a Cure has switched beneficiaries to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and organizers now are gearing up for the next tractor ride Aug. 6 in Peotone, where the nonprofit is based.
The entry fee to drive a tractor or ATV in the procession is $75, which includes lunch in Sollitt, a pork chop dinner at the Peotone Legion Hall at the end of the 35-mile ride, and a T-shirt. The ticket also offers the chance to win cash prizes or door prizes.
Registration is due by July 30, and kids and others can get involved too with rides on hay wagons. The fee for children 12 and younger, including a meal and seat on a wagon, is $25.
The event also includes a corn roast and cash bar.
This summer’s event is in honor of Don Werner Sr., who died of cancer last year.
“It is to remember the good things … to remember him for all the things he did in his life,” Bettenhausen said. “He was always involved in the Will County Farm Bureau in Joliet, very active in helping and supporting agriculture.”
Debbie Werner, Don Werner’s daughter-in-law who is secretary/treasurer of the Tractors for a Cure board, remembered him fondly. She said her family has farmed 7,000 acres in Manhattan since 1918.
“He was a good ol’ farmer in the Manhattan area,” said Werner, of Manhattan. “The committee board chose him because he had been a supporter since the beginning.”
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Werner said she had joined because both her parents died from cancer and she wanted to help.
“I’m a farm girl and we try to use the farm people to be on the board and people affiliated with the rural community in Will County,” she said. “And I’m passionate about fundraising for things.”
Gary Jurres, another board member, also joined because he wanted to support cancer survivors. He and his mother own a bowling alley in Peotone and one of their youth bowlers had cancer.
“Everybody’s lives have been touched by cancer,” Jurres said. “That’s even more of a special thing because you’re talking about kids and young adults and what the families have to go through.”
More information about the event is at tractorsforacure.com.
Janice Neumann is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.