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Every town has its traditions, and Palmyra, Mo., is no exception.
Each September, the Palmyra FFA Chapter hosts its annual hayride. This event kicks off fall fruit sales and serves as a social gathering.
The event begins with anxious students filing into the agriculture building. Palmyra FFA Vice President Marissa Gottman leads the officers in Opening Ceremonies. Further business is tended to, including voting on the crops committee, but everyone looks forward to what comes next.
The feeling of crisp air and the crackling of a bonfire fills each FFA member’s mind. After hearing, “This meeting is adjourned,” a sea of blankets and flannel-wearing students rush out the doors. The hayride has begun.
Students scramble onto trailers, finding the best spots. Seats are saved, and friend groups are separated. Finally, as everyone sits down, the truck engine comes to life. Out of the school parking lot and down country roads, the hayride rumbles on. Chatter fills the air as friends catch up and new friends are made. Then, the hayride comes to a stop.
A hayride is fun, but one with a bonfire is even better. The Palmyra FFA hayride stops at its advisor, Luke Mahsman’s, farm for a bonfire. Some students scramble to get marshmallows and sticks, while others play a game of basketball, and some choose to sit on the trailer and catch up with old friends. No matter what they are doing, everyone is having fun.
Finally, as the darkness deepens in the sky, the bonfire comes to an end. Students clean up any messes made and find their way back to the trailer. The ride home is quieter as students are beginning to become tired and cold. The bonfire was a success, and students head home with anticipation for next year’s hayride.
“I always look forward to the hayride; it’s one of my favorite meetings,” says Palmyra FFA Treasurer Katie Kamm.
