Jeff Newell blocks the early morning sun from his eyes and Ron Wachholtz follows behind July 11 as the pair cruise down Highway 530 in Arlington on their tractors. The men drove to Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, and raised more than $20,000 for the American Diabetes Association. (Andy Bronson / Herald file)

Jeff Newell blocks the early morning sun from his eyes and Ron Wachholtz follows behind July 11 as the pair cruise down Highway 530 in Arlington on their tractors. The men drove to Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, and raised more than $20,000 for the American Diabetes Association. (Andy Bronson / Herald file)

Tractoring home: Arlington men back from fundraiser ride

Jeff Newell and Ron Wachholtz rode from Arlington to Alaska to raise money for diabetes research.

CONWAY — Dust from the long road home covered the two tractors, each towing a trailer, that parked not far from the Conway Pub and Eatery.

Jeff Newell and Ron Wachholtz were making what would likely be their final stop Friday afternoon before the last 12 miles back to the Arlington property where Newell, 56, has lived all his life.

The two men drove their tractors nearly 5,000 miles from Arlington to Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, and back. They left July 11. It took about six weeks.

“We didn’t have much down time, just a couple times for repairs,” Newell said.

An alternator went out once, and they had to fix the trailer hitches multiple times.

It was a challenging trip, but a rewarding one.

Newell is a local business owner who bought a run-down John Deere tractor at auction, stripped it and rebuilt it over about nine months. The trip from Arlington to Alaska was a route he did years ago on a motorcycle, but he wanted to take it at a slower pace — and it was certainly slower by tractor, at about 15 mph.

Wachholtz, 62, became friends with Newell through a family member. He didn’t have time to get his own John Deere ready for the road, but his New Holland served him well.

Though Newell didn’t originally intend to make the trip into a fundraiser, he decided that if he was going to spend so much time, he might as well do it for a cause. He’s been collecting donations for diabetes research and education.

He was diagnosed with Type 1, also called juvenile, diabetes when he was 11.

The trailers behind the two tractors were painted with green and yellow banners that say “Driving for Diabetes,” with a web address for the fundraising site: www.gofundme.com/johndeerealaska.

“It was a couple of guys on tractors and people act like we come from the moon,” Wachholtz said. “It’s just something to catch their eye.”

The effort raised well over $20,000 online, and several thousand more in cash donations. The money will go to the American Diabetes Association.

Messages on the fundraiser page include personal stories. Several people donated in memory of a loved one, or because they have lived with diabetes.

“I have been a Type 1 diabetic since I was 9! Thank you so much for what you are doing!” one person wrote.

Another: “Donated in memory of my grandpa Red.”

Heading up through Canada and Alaska, Newell and Wachholtz heard more stories in person. The locals were welcoming and supportive. The owner of a service station paid for $275 in gas. He told them he was part of the First Nations people in Canada, and that diabetes affects many of the native population.

“He wouldn’t quit shaking our hand,” Wachholtz said.

Another man let them use his shop for repairs and drive his truck into town.

“He just opened his doors like he knew us for 100 years,” Newell said.

The man also called his sister, who owned an RV park nearby, and arranged a place for them to stay that night.

Everywhere they stopped, people wanted to talk, Newell said.

“And every time, there was someone who (said) they or a grandkid or a parent or a friend has diabetes,” he said.

In one town, they were invited to camp in the yard of a Canadian military veteran who is on dialysis.

“So many people opened up,” Newell said. “It’s kind of an unsung disease. People think, ‘Oh, he’s diabetic,’ but they don’t stop to think of what he goes through the rest of his life.”

A central goal of the trip was encouraging people to learn about the disease, which impairs the body’s ability to produce or use insulin to process food, causing elevated blood sugar, and can lead to serious medical complications.

Newell feels he accomplished his goal.

Along with the people they met, the scenery will stay with Newell and Wachholtz.

The sights were “unreal,” they said, like something from a movie. They drove alongside crystal clear rivers and passed over steep mountains.

“It’s like you’re driving into them,” Newell said. “Maybe it was because of the 15 mph speed, but they almost consume you.”

There were some heart-pounding moments. While riding on the shoulder of a rural road, the ground began to give way.

“I was able to pull out of it, but boy, it was close,” Newell said.

On the northward trek through Canada, they managed to stay ahead of wildfires that have burned in recent weeks. They spent four days on a ferry on the way home to stay clear of fires.

Newell plans to keep the fundraising site up for at least a few more weeks. He hopes to reconnect with some of the people he met on the road and still is taking donations. He hopes it helps find a cure.

He knows he’s not the only person with a creative way to bring attention to the disease. His wife sent him a news article about an 11-year-old boy who walked from Florida to Washington.

“I would sure like to shake his hand,” Newell said.

Kari Bray: 425-339-3439; kbray@heraldnet.com.

Talk to us

More in Local News

This photo provided by OceanGate Expeditions shows a submersible vessel named Titan used to visit the wreckage site of the Titanic. In a race against the clock on the high seas, an expanding international armada of ships and airplanes searched Tuesday, June 20, 2023, for the submersible that vanished in the North Atlantic while taking five people down to the wreck of the Titanic. (OceanGate Expeditions via AP)
A new movie based on OceanGate’s Titan submersible tragedy is in the works: ‘Salvaged’

MindRiot announced the film, a fictional project titled “Salvaged,” on Friday.

Craig Hess (Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office)
Sultan’s new police chief has 22 years in law enforcement

Craig Hess was sworn in Sep. 14. The Long Island-born cop was a first-responder on 9/11. He also served as Gold Bar police chief.

Cars move across Edgewater Bridge toward Everett on Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2023, in Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Edgewater Bridge redo linking Everett, Mukilteo delayed until mid-2024

The project, now with an estimated cost of $27 million, will detour West Mukilteo Boulevard foot and car traffic for a year.

Lynn Deeken, the Dean of Arts, Learning Resources & Pathways at EvCC, addresses a large gathering during the ribbon cutting ceremony of the new Cascade Learning Center on Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023, at Everett Community College in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
New EvCC learning resource center opens to students, public

Planners of the Everett Community College building hope it will encourage students to use on-campus tutoring resources.

Boeing employees watch the KC-46 Pegasus delivery event  from the air stairs at Boeing on Thursday, Jan. 24, 2019 in Everett, Wa. (Andy Bronson / The Herald)
Boeing’s iconic Everett factory tour to resume in October

After a three-year hiatus, tours of the Boeing Company’s enormous jet assembly plant are back at Paine Field.

A suspected hit and run crash Wednesday morning left a pedestrian dead on I-5 north near Marysville. (Washington State Patrol)
Suspected hit and run crash on I-5 near Marysville leaves 1 dead

State patrol responded to reports of a body on the right shoulder of I-5. Two lanes were closed while troopers investigated.

Representative Rick Larsen speaks at the March For Our Lives rally on Saturday, June 11, 2022 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Larsen: ‘Fractured caucus’ of House Republicans is ‘unable to lead’

Following removal of the House speaker, a shutdown still looms. Congress has until Nov. 17 to devise a spending plan.

Spada Lake is seen from Culmback Dam on Sunday, Oct. 1, 2023, near Sultan, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Helicopter crash in Copper Lake sparks environmental, health concerns

Rangers hadn’t heard of fly-in tourism in the area — which can harm the wilderness and people downstream, advocates say.

Arlington
Man charged with dealing fentanyl pills that led to Arlington overdose

Prosecutors charged Robin Clariday with controlled substance homicide. He allegedly handed Bradley Herron the pills outside a hotel.

Lynnwood
Seattle woman identified in fatal Highway 99 crash

Elena Mroczek, 74, was killed Sunday in a crash involving a 19-year-old.

A memorial for a 15-year-old shot and killed last week is set up at a bus stop along Harrison Road on Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Rival gang members charged with killing Everett boy, 15, at bus stop

The two suspects are accused of premeditated first-degree murder in the death of Bryan Tamayo-Franco, 15.

Logo for news use featuring the municipality of Snohomish in Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
Witnesses contradict gunman’s account of killing Monroe prison officer

Dylan Picard, 22, was driving on South Machias Road when Dan Spaeth approached his car to slow it down to avoid hitting a deer.