The first and second week in August get busy as the 16th, 17th
and 18th of August was our show.
This year we featured the International tractor. They really
came in, as well as the other makes, and trailers loaded with gas
engines. The steam engines rolled in also, as we had 12. David Ott
said, ‘No, mine is a scale Case,’ so that was actually
11.
Yes, the weather was warm but not as hot as ’95.
As some of the people got warmed up and worked up an appetite
they went to the shelter where they could get a piece of homemade
pie and some pop. They sat and watched the big sawmill work with a
20 HP Russell. They enjoyed the bark of the 19 HP Keck-Gonnerman as
Jim loaded the log on the carriage and turned it to suit by
hydraulic. He started sawing and the slabs and lumber came sliding
off the slide. There were two or three men piling the slabs and
boards in separate piles.
About 5:00 p.m. the Lakewood Christian School served the pig
roast along with cole saw and potato salad. At 6:15 some men set up
for the country western music and the program to honor our
farmer’s couple-of-the-year. This year the couple to be honored
was Anna and Art Myers. They are now retired but they farmed in
their area all their lives and still live on the farm. They have
one daughter and she and her husband also farm.
At dark they fired the engines on the sawmill for the spark
show. Tom popped the popcorn in the big iron kettle,
mmm-mmm good!
By the way, I didn’t mention that some meeting nights we
worked cutting some trees, digging out stones on five acres for new
camp grounds on the east end of the show grounds. It was well used
this year and we plan to do more in 1997.
We had some crafts that run from making potato crates in an 1898
jig to the usual things made from wood, and a blacksmith
demonstration. Some ladies demonstrated weaving cloth.
We have handicap parking on the grounds close to the cook shack
and some shuttle riders, but people need to tell us if they need
help, so we can help them.
We do not have meetings November, December and January. In
February we have a pot-luck at Jim and Julie Blough’s to start
the new season off.
A steam show is a lot of hard work, but it seems like each one
is an improvement on the one before. When we see families enjoying
the show, as well as children learning how things used to be in
yesteryears, it all seems well worthwhile.
The 1997 show will be held August 15th, 16th and 17th. Hope to
see you, in Clarksville, Michigan.
