'Green tractor men' keep campus walkways safe
Stephanie Frey, posted Dec. 7, 2006

Wes McAllister is not an MU student and he is not a professor, but he spends at least eight hours each day working on the MU campus. McAllister said, “I drive a tractor.” McAllister spends his time driving a John Deer tractor, belonging to MU, currently through the snow each and every day. The purpose of this task is to help make the journey to class each day a bit safer for the MU students.

The drivers of these tractors ride around campus daily, plowing snow from the sidewalks in order to try and reduce the number of slips and spills that students fall victim to each day. The tractor that McAllister drives has added features such as doors, a plow and a heater. “If you take the snow plow off, it cuts grass,” said McAllister, “When there’s no snow that becomes my job, cutting grass.”

The small green tractors can be seen all over campus due to the fact that there are multiple drivers, usually four or five at time, who are all employees of MU Lawn Services. “Anyone can drive the tractors, it isn’t hard to do,” said McAllister.

When asked whether the snow tractors can fall over or not, McAllister said, “I am sure they could. I have never been in one when they have, but since they are kind of tall I bet they could.”

Susan Westcott, an MU student, said, “I think that the people who plow the sidewalks do a good job clearing them, but they leave huge piles of snow blocking my usual shortcuts. You have to follow the crosswalks and that’s a bit inconvenient. Overall, though, they make my walk to class easier.”

McAllister said that the best part of his job is being outside for the majority of the day and, due to the heater that is installed in each of the tractors, the cold does not get to him. Besides the outdoor aspect of the job, McAllister said, “It’s really a fun job riding around in the tractor and seeing everyone.”

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