A Minnesota community said goodbye to a teen killed in a farming accident last week, as farmers lined up more than 40 tractors along a highway to pay tribute.
Landon David Gran, 18, died Wednesday in a grain bin accident at his family's home in Norseland, The Free Press of Mankato reported. He will be buried Tuesday at Norseland Lutheran Cemetery, according to his obituary.
Gran, who was about to begin his senior year at St. Peter High School, had hoped to take over his family's farming business someday, WCCO-TV reported.
To pay their respects, area farmers lined up their tractors along Highway 22 in Norseland.
"It's pretty characteristic of Norseland that people really do care for one another and really do come together like this," Solveig Langr, a neighbor, told WCCO.
The dozens of tractors are accompanied by a sign that reads "Landon 2001-2019."
Some tractors lining the road are more than 80 years old. Neighbors are still coming to grips with the tragedy.
"My son just took over the farm now, and we have grandchildren doing this. And I can't imagine something like this happening," Eugene Wellmann told WCCO.
Wellman is also a farmer and a friend to the Gran family. After Monday's visitation at the Catholic Church of St. Peter, he visited the row of tractors to see the memorial for himself. The tribute does not surprise him.
"It's just another thing to show how the community comes together when tragedy happens to a young person like this," Wellmann told WCCO.
"They come together when they need to. They support one another when they need to. Even when things aren’t so good for them," Langr told the television station. "They understand a heartbreaking situation like this.".
Gran would have served as secretary of his school's FFA club, according to his obituary. He enjoyed fishing, hunting and trapping, and was a member of his high school's trapshooting team. His friends want to hold a trap shoot in his honor next year, WCCO reported.
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