1541
501 Club
Congratulations to the 2024 Buckeye Cub Tug winners: Barry Souders of Jackson, Ohio, and Dylan Surbaugh of Circleville, Ohio, the winner of the youth group. Barry has previously placed both second and third in past Buckeye Cub Tugs.
Bonnie and I want to thank everyone for making the 2024 Buckeye Cub Tug successful. We hope everyone enjoyed themselves as much as we did. This year, all proceeds from the Cub Tug went to John Clouse, a local farmer who was injured in a farming accident this past February. The family was very grateful for the donation and wanted to extend their thanks to everyone who contributed.
This year, there were participants from 13 states: Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, and Ohio. Please let me know if I missed a state. I tried to at least say hello to everyone, but I know I missed a few folks.
This event wouldn’t have been possible without the help and guidance from Darrell and Janet Ratliff. Darrell and Janet spent many evenings and weekends helping us prepare and were here the entire week of the event. We would also like to thank John, Sheri, and Mikey Ratliff. What can I say? John is a wizard in the kitchen, and it would be impossible to feed everyone without him. We would also like to thank John’s celebrity assistant, Johnny Brunet, host of the YouTube channel “Griddle with Johnny.” Johnny was the guest griddle master at the Friday breakfast. Thanks also to Lisa Seagro and Karen Curry for volunteering for “Noodle Day,” McCauley Farms for donating eggs for Noodle Day, and to Jane King, who does everything from running errands to jumping in wherever she sees something that needs to be done. Special thanks go out to Bill Weisbrodt, who logged many hours mowing to make the place look presentable, and to Tootle’s Karaoke for providing the Friday night entertainment and the sound system for Sara Simmons. Special thanks also go out to Sara Simmons and Kevin Key for providing the Saturday evening entertainment. And my neighbor Jeanne, who puts up with me all year and then comes over and works her tail off and is invaluable to John in the kitchen and in keeping the buffet line running during the Buckeye Cub Tug. And special thanks to my wife Bonnie, who is stuck with me all the time and keeps everyone on track.
I would also like to extend a special thanks to the Village of Somerset and the Somerset Memorial Park Board for letting us use the park and the pulling track; Doug Snider for preparing the track; Southeastern Ohio Garden Tractor Pullers Association and Greg Myers for donating the pulling sled; John Martin for providing the pullback tractor; Mack Seagro for setting up the sound system; the Snider Family and all others I may have missed who contributed as track and sled crew and made everything run smoothly.
We also want to thank the Sheridan FFA Alumni for providing the trackside lunch. They also generously donated their proceeds to the John Clouse Fund. And of course, none of this would have been worth doing if folks didn’t show up and bring their Cubs. Thank you for coming and making it a fun weekend.
Next year will be the 20th Anniversary of the Bigdog’s Buckeye Cub Tug. We look forward to seeing everyone again and are looking for ideas on marking this special anniversary on July 25 & 26, 2025.
Doug & Bonnie
