The Le Sueur County Pioneer Power Assn. Swap Meet & Flea Market has to be one of the biggest swap meets around in this hobby.
The 33rd annual swap meet was held April 23-25, 2010, east of Le Sueur, Minn., at the show grounds.
Vendors line up as early as a week before just to get a good spot in line. On Thursday at 5:30, the club starts letting them into the grounds to go stake their claim on a special spot. Puts me in the mind of the 1893 Oklahoma Land Race I’ve read about, minus the horses and guns! People set up and sell their wares, which can be anything from antique house wares, manuals and literature, tools, apparel, old iron and gas engines to antique tractors, parts and accessories.
You see just about anything here.
Not sure what you call this but it has everything you’d expect from a contraption like this to hold it together. From a pair of pliers to duct tape and baling wire. Reminds me of some of the quick fixes I saw growing up on a farm.
According to club member Dave Preuhs, the club has 120 acres and about 100 acres are dedicated to the swap/show and parking. They plant some crops on part of the land to use in their working field demonstrations at their summer show (Aug. 27-29, 2010).
He said this year the unofficial count was around 900 vendors. Walking around the 100 acres to meet and talk to vendors, I smelled the different foods offered on the grounds (my favorite were the fried cheese curds!) and heard a little polka music (after all, I am in Minnesota).
On Friday the wind decided to really blow some dust around and finally blew up a little rain on Friday night. That gave the water truck a break on Saturday. By Saturday afternoon the sun was shining. There was lots of hustle and bustle going on throughout the grounds, with five tractor loaders, payloaders and skidsteers helping people load their new possessions, and collectors boasting about their awesome finds. Visitors here are either swapping stories, swapping iron or wheeling and dealing.
Seems like everyone is eager to kick off the show and swap season, and this swap meet has become a prime meeting place for collectors from all over the country to meet and exchange items they have already made deals on as well.
I hope it is another great season for everyone and look forward to seeing you at the next show!
See you down the road!