WITH FARM COLLECTOR
GREAT OREGON STEAM-UP CAPTURES FLAVOR OF THE NORTHWEST IN ‘CENTURY’ SHOW
A once-in-a-century experience is planned at this year’s ‘Great Oregon Steam-Up.’ Set for two weekends (July 29-30 and Aug. 5-6) at the Antique Powerland Museum near Salem, Ore., the 30th annual event will focus on the heritage of machinery.
Fourteen separate restoration/preservation groups will set up exhibits at the show, each specializing in a different category: Steam, early gas engines, tractors, crawlers, farm implements, construction equipment, logging and sawing, blacksmithing, flour milling, trucks, rail and trolleys. Exhibits will include both full-size and scale model displays. Show organizers plan to present the equipment in working displays, to give a clear idea of the role early machinery played in farm and industrial applications.
The show, held at the 63-acre Powerland Heritage site, features games and pulls for all ages, parades, demonstrations, a vintage truck collection, miniature farm, toys and models, and entertainment.
A special feature at this year’s show: Caterpillar Day (Saturday, July 29), commemorating the Caterpillar Company’s 75th anniversary in 2000.
On Sunday, July 30, the focus will be on farming, logging and sawing. The next Saturday’s theme will be transportation, trades and services. Powerland exhibits, say show organizers, are particularly strong in those categories, and a strong showing is expected. The SP 4449 steam locomotive will be onsite at the nearby Hopmere siding.
For more information: Antique Powerland Museum, Western Antique Power, Inc., 3995 Brooklake Road NE, Brooks, OR 97303; (503) 393-2424. Location: Take I-5 to the Brooks exit (No. 263), eight miles north of Salem. Contact: Julius Dalzell, 525 Sunrise Place NW, Sublimity, OR 97385; (503) 767-2400 or (503) 767-2413; email: dalzell@wvi.com
Carolina On Your Mind:
DENTON, N.C. SHOW PULLS OUT THE STOPS FOR AMERICAN CLASSIC
Looking for an all-American kind of event this Fourth of July? Try the 30th annual Southeast Old Threshers’ Reunion at Denton FarmPark, Denton, N.C. Spread over a sprawling 100-acre complex, the reunion transports visitors to another era.
Set for June 30 Juty 4 this year, the Reunion boasts solid credentials: Permanent onsite features include a 1914 Aultman-Taylor 30-60; a 50 hp Case steam tractor dating to the early 1900s; a full complement of early threshers, balers, combines and a portable Frick 00 sawmill.
But there’s more, the kind of pieces that set a show apart: Look for a wood splitter, rock crusher, steam shovel, shingle mill, veneer lathe and even a working original horsepower from the late 1800s, all operated and demonstrated by members of the Southeast Machinery Society, Inc.
And then there’s the local favorites, unique to the Southeast Old Threshers’ Reunion: Spend _ some time with a 350 hp one-cylinder Bates-Corliss steam engine manufactured in 1905, featuring a flywheel 15 feet in diameter. Or check out what may be the only working moonshine still you’ll ever see in action (although it’s output today is nothing more intoxicating than distilled water). And the Reid Plantation, an authentic plantation salvaged and relocated to FarmPark, gives an authentic look at the past through demonstrations and restorations.
An operating U.S. Post Office, country store, grist mill, church services, farming demonstrations, gold ore stamping machine, steam crane, more than 1,000 antique gasoline engines, another thousand antique tractors, daily parades, steam train rides, Border Collies herding sheep, tractor pulls, consignment auction, big name country music… the schedule even includes an F-15 flyover (June 30).
For more information: The Southeast Old Threshers’ Reunion, June 30-july 4, Denton FarmPark, 1366 Jim Elliott Road, Denton, N.C, 27239; (336) 859-2755 or (336) 859-3663. email: manager@threshers.com On the world wide web: www.threshers.com/farmpark
