Tioga teen enjoys machinery of early days
Kengee Raveling, left, Avery Jorstad, center, and Charlotte Mehnke ride in a U.S. Marine crawler during the Divide County Threshing Bee. Photo by Roger Riveland. Submitted Photo
Submitted Photo Avery Jorstad rides an Allis-Chalmers tractor with her father, Mitchell Jorstad, during the Divide County Threshing Bee parade in July in Crosby. Both Avery and her father drove multiple tractors during the event. Photo by Roger Riveland.
Submitted Photo Wearing bib overalls, Avery Jorstad works on her family’s antique eight-bottom plow, which was used during the plowing exhibition at the Divide County Threshing Bee in July. Photo by Roger Riveland.
Kengee Raveling, left, Avery Jorstad, center, and Charlotte Mehnke ride in a U.S. Marine crawler during the Divide County Threshing Bee. Photo by Roger Riveland. Submitted Photo
Submitted Photo Avery Jorstad rides an Allis-Chalmers tractor with her father, Mitchell Jorstad, during the Divide County Threshing Bee parade in July in Crosby. Both Avery and her father drove multiple tractors during the event. Photo by Roger Riveland.
Submitted Photo Wearing bib overalls, Avery Jorstad works on her family’s antique eight-bottom plow, which was used during the plowing exhibition at the Divide County Threshing Bee in July. Photo by Roger Riveland.
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TIOGA - This year marked Avery Jorstad and her father, Mitchell Jorstad's, 18th consecutive year attending the Divide County Threshing Bee in Crosby.
At 18 years old, Avery Jorstad of Tioga has attended the annual event every year of her life. Her father taught her how to operate and maintain old vehicles at a young age. She and her younger brother spend the time they are not in school helping out on the Jorstad family farm.
The vehicle she showed off this year was her family's vintage U.S. Marine crawler, which originally came from Charlotte Mehnke's family farm in Great Falls, Montana.
Jorstad has been operating the crawler for four years. She explained that it was originally used to push trees during wartime, calling it a "great piece of moving history."
Jorstad said she's gathered that when most people see her operating the crawler, they are often surprised to see it is operated by a young woman.
In addition to the Divide County Threshing Bee, she has attended several similar events, including the Western Minnesota Steam Threshers Reunion in Rollag, Minnesota, and the Gathering of the Orange and Pioneer Days in Albany, Montana.
She said she often gets to show off the loud equipment to young kids, hopefully inspiring some to work with similar machinery some day.
Her favorite piece among her family's collection is their 1979 yellow Chevrolet square-body truck.
Jorstad said vintage equipment has always played a major role in her life, noting that she was even named after the Avery tractor brand.
She said she plans to use her experience with equipment in her career path by going into an agriculture-related field.