Cruising in style at the Macon County (Mo.) Flywheel show.
Photo by Susan Eddy. Numa, Iowa
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For the first time ever at the Midwest Old Threshers Reunion, Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, Aug. 31-Sept. 4, 2017, a 1905 12-ton Kelly Springfield steamroller takes a turn operating as a printing press. Artist Ann Klingensmith, Mt. Pleasant, and Mel Stockwell, Birmingham, Iowa, hold a freshly printed poster made from a block Ann carved by hand.
Photo by Janet Healy. Fulton, MO
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Rides on a steam locomotive are a popular attraction day and night at the Midwest Old Threshers Reunion, Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, Aug. 31-Sept. 4, 2017.
Photo by Janet Healy. Fulton, MO
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William Folta is excited about everything from uncovering gas engines in the morning (“Ta da!” he exclaims) to trying to start the engines. Here, he puts all he has into starting his dad’s Alamo at the Midwest Old Threshers Reunion, Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, Aug. 31-Sept. 4, 2017.
Photo by Janet Healy. Fulton, MO
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Ella Little is all smiles as she rides the pony powered by a gas engine owned by her granddad, Kevin Hembrough, at the annual Steam Show & Fall Festival in Jacksonville, Ill., Sept. 22-24.
Photo by Janet Healy. Fulton, MO
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Kevin Hembrough, Greenfield, Ill., gets into the spirit of the August solar eclipse, sporting oversized sunglasses and running his Eclipse engine at the Montgomery County Old Threshers show in Montgomery City, Mo., Aug. 18-20.
Photo by Janet Healy
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Mr. and Mrs. Floyd Wortman parade their 1938 Farmall F-20 at the Mark Twain Old Threshers show in Paris, Mo.
Photo by Melanie Boone
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David Setzer is at the controls of a 1935 McCormick-Deering binder pulled by a 1947 Farmall BN during the Catawba Valley Harvest Assn. Harvest Show, June 9, 2017, in Newton, N.C.
Photo by Kim Siemon and Jim Yount
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Jerry Balvin is all concentration as he starts his wife Valerie’s Domestic vertical model engine at the Camp Creek Threshers show, Ceresco, Neb.
Photo by Susan Eddy
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Engine enthusiasts come in all shapes and sizes, including four-legged Franklin, taking in the action at the Camp Creek Threshers show, Ceresco, Neb.
Photo by Susan Eddy
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A handsomely restored Avery Yellow Fellow threshing machine, a true relic of the past, is displayed at the 31st annual Menno (S.D.) Pioneer Power Show, Sept. 23-24. The permanent show grounds are home to an amazing collection of restored buildings, including houses, barn, depot, schoolhouse, church, sawmill, flourmill and more. In 2018, the show features are John Deere tractors and engines and Nash-Rambler cars.
Photo by Donna Zeeb
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Final preparations just before the Hancock County (Tenn.) tractor show and parade, Oct. 7, 2017, in Sneedville, Tenn. Left to right: Congressman Phil Roe, Tennessee Circuit Court Judge Alex Pearson and Dwight Snodgrass, event organizer, with a 1962 Ford 861 (left) and a 1953 Ford Golden Jubilee.
Photo by Bill Snodgrass
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Strong interest packs a class for women learning the intricacies of steam at Steam School, Heritage Park of North Iowa, Forest City.
Photo by Pam Olson
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A multitude of tractors in every color on display at the 44th annual Le Sueur County (Minn.) Pioneer Power Show.
Photo by Beth Roberts
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Living life large on the Pioneer Express Railroad at the Le Sueur County (Minn.) Pioneer Power Show.
Photo by Beth Roberts
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The Grainery Feed & Seed is open for business during the Le Sueur County (Minn.) Pioneer Power Show.
Photo by Beth Roberts
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A 75 hp Case steam engine provides power on the Melounek & Deutsch sawmill at the Le Sueur County (Minn.) Pioneer Power Show.
Photo by Beth Roberts
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This monument at the Le Sueur County (Minn.) Pioneer Power Show honors local agricultural traditions.
Photo by Beth Roberts
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Dan Holicky, Le Center, Minn., with his nicely restored Farmall Regular and 15 hp screen-cooled International Harvester engine during the Le Sueur County (Minn.) Pioneer Power Show.
Photo by Dave Preuhs
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Starting them out young: Waylan, Lula and Georgia Preuhs in their Pioneer Power bibs at the Le Sueur County (Minn.) Pioneer Power Show.
Photo by Granddad Dave Preuhs
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At the 2017 Stearns County Pioneer Club Pioneer Days Threshing Show in Albany, Minn., a 1949 Minneapolis-Moline ZA Standard pulls an MM Model LO spreader overflowing with marigolds planted by Norma Wuertz. The spreader dates to about 1960; the tractor is from the Wuertz family collection.
Photo by Jim Wuertz
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A 1950 Minneapolis-Moline Bale-O-Matic wire-tie baler in operation at the 2017 Stearns County Pioneer Club Pioneer Days Threshing Show in Albany, Minn. Here, Nick Wuertz feeds the machine.
Photo by Jim Wuertz
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A Big Four tractor fresh from the paint shop makes its dazzling post-restoration debut at the 2017 Stearns County Pioneer Club Pioneer Days Threshing Show in Albany, Minn.
Photo by Jim Wuertz
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Tom Nowak (left), assisted by Jeremy Wise, prepares to shoot an anvil at the Jack Branch Engine Club’s annual Crank-Up on Oct. 28 in Sedalia, Mo. The art of anvil shooting goes back more than a century. Using anvils of equal weight, Tom puts creamy peanut butter between the anvils as a seal, with black powder and fuse in the middle. The resulting percussion launches the top anvil high into the air, making the perfect “dinner bell” at the annual event.
Photo by Charles Wise
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Three generations – Jim Blackburn, Jase Blackburn and Jake Blackburn (left to right) – prepare to show the family John Deere GP Bean Special at the Maple Crest Tractor & Engine Show, Sept. 23, 2017, in Bluffton, Ohio.
Photo by TR Steiner
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A line-up of Massy-Harris tractors – a Pacer, Colt and Mustang – owned by Larry and Brad Barrett on display at the Maple Crest Tractor & Engine Show, Sept. 23, 2017, in Bluffton, Ohio. The Barretts are currently restoring a Massey-Harris Pony. Brad also displayed a MH 444 at the show.
Photo by TR Steiner
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A bird’s eye view of the action at the 38th annual Heatwole Threshing Show, Aug. 12-13, in Hutchinson, Minn. An Advance-Rumely Model G owned by the Heatwole Threshing Assn. provides power to a Twin City dual feeder threshing machine also owned by the association. The Massey-Harris 20 shown with the wagon is owned by Club President Corey Henke.
Photo by Jim Pessek
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This vintage snow blower is a regular feature at the Valmy Thresheree held each August in Jacksonport in northeastern Wisconsin. A monster in its day, the unique machine was used to open rural roads made impassable by blowing and drifting snow. Local dairy farms depended on open roads to haul milk to area cheese plants. The heavy-duty Snogo (serial no. 55) was built in 1926 by Klauer Mfg. Co., Dubuque, Iowa. Powered by a big rear-mounted Climax 6-cylinder gasoline engine, the Snogo is rated 175 hp at 1,200 rpm. It has eight forward speeds from 1/4 to 25 mph. It required two good men to handle the mechanical controls. The noise of its approach could be heard for several miles on a clear, cold winter night.
Photo by Jeff Rowsam
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Keith McDonald demonstrates use of a horse-drawn single disc at the 2017 Mid-Iowa Antique Power Show, held Aug. 4-6, west of Marshalltown, Iowa, on SR 30.
Photo by Ken Smith
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A straight-8 Buick “Fireball” engine peps up Dave Harris’ Farmall F-12 in the antique pulls at the River Valley Antique Assn. show in Mapleton, Ill.
Photo by Bob Hunnicutt
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The owner of a Harris hillside combine demonstrates the extreme angles the combine can deliver at the Western Minnesota Steam Threshers Reunion in Rollag, Minn.
Photo by Bob Hunnicutt
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It’s not all glamour in the steam engine world: Here, an overnight shower makes a mud pit at the Western Minnesota Steam Threshers Reunion in Rollag, Minn.
Photo by Bob Hunnicutt
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Checking the phone wasn’t part of the routine in the age of steam, but it is today at the Western Minnesota Steam Threshers Reunion in Rollag, Minn.
Photo by Bob Hunnicutt
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An Oliver orchard/grove tractor in original condition, with a pull-behind pesticide sprayer drew enormous attention at the 25th annual Florida Flywheelers Antique Engine & Tractor Show in Fort Meade, Fla., in late February.
Photo by Tom Gerow Jr.
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A new theme for garden tractors at the 24th annual Tri-State Antique Power Show in Gray, Tenn., in late April: rebuilding them to look like miniature replicas of full-size tractors, including a track-mounted John Deere mower at back.
Photo by Tom Gerow Jr.
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A display of antique garden tractors at the 24th annual Tri-State Antique Power Show in Gray, Tenn., in late April.
Photo by Tom Gerow Jr.
Got a case of the wintertime blues? A dose of show season fun may be just what you need! In this special section we feature the best of dozens of photos submitted by readers of Farm Collector. Photos from every corner of the country bring summer back to life and with it, the unique delights experienced by young and old as they take in their favorite shows.
This year’s batch of photos is one of the best ever. These shots are bound to banish the cold weather blues. You can practically hear the sounds of steam whistles, 2-cylinder tractors and hit-and-miss engines; you can almost smell the coal smoke. Kettle corn, anyone?
Pictures like these may even serve as a wake-up call. If you have a project or two in mind, daylight’s burning! It won’t be long before a new show season starts – and you’ll want to be ready. Until then, on with the show! FC
Do you have a special place in your heart for the good old days of life on the American farm? Do your ears perk up at the sound of an old Johnny Popper John Deere? Do your eyes widen at the sight of a vintage Stover stationary? Then Farm Collector is for you!
