Box 43 Somonauk, Illinois 60552
The Bureau Valley Antique Club of Ohio, Illinois held their 13th
annual ‘Ol Fashun Threshun Days’ on July 14 and 15, 1990.
After several months of work by Lawrence Welsh and Ron Ross (with a
little help from the rest of us), our new cook shack was ready, the
wheat had been bundled and shocked, and everyone was prepared for a
With Neil Drummer’s Port Huron steam engine and threshing
machine as the backbone of the show, the saw mill set up and ready
to run, and a good turnout of tractors and engines, we were
underway. The Friday night sing-along, play-along was enjoyed by
everyone, even the early birds in the west forty. The Old Time
Style Show was well attended Saturday afternoon. The parade at 2:00
was narrated by a ‘ ‘highly opinionated tire kicker’.
(Must be because I like Flambeau Red better than Prairie Gold!)
Saturday night music was by Janet Grossman on the organ until 7:00,
then ‘The Three Old Goats and Their Two Kids’ played until
10:00 for an appreciative crowd.
During the wee small hours Sunday morning we were awakened to
the patter of raindrops on the camper roof. With the cold grey
dawn, it was evident that our shade trees had some major leaks. As
the morning wore on, it was plain to see that we had a problem. The
noon whistle was even cancelled because of the rain.
Suddenly a cry went out, ‘Anybody got a rope? A nice long,
heavy rope?’ What, had they caught the Weather Man or Mother
Nature? No, this cold, wet, and energetic crew had noticed that the
small, normally mild mannered creek that runs through the show
grounds was filled to overflowing. ‘HEY, YOU GUYS, let’s
have a tug-of-war across the creek!’ So began our first ever
(and hopefully the last!) People Power Mud Pull. I can’t report
any winners, but Bob Nally got the worst of it when he wound up as
the only one left on the rope against four on the other
side and made like a speed boat through the creek! Finally, about
2:00 the rain stopped enough to let us get in the kids’ pedal
pull. With all the mud, we had a rough time finding a place to hold
it, but managed, with a slight downhill advantage for the kids.
With the end of a very wet day in sight, the Board of Directors
decided to come back the next Sunday to thresh the rest of the
wheat and run the saw mill. That didn’t work out either, and we
finally had to run the bundles through the combine when they could
get in the field.
Well, anyway, if you want to attend a nice, friendly, and fun
show, come join us July 13 and 14, 1991 at Albrecht’s Grove,
two miles south and mile west of Ohio, Illinois. We have good food,
antique tractors and engines, steam threshing, pedal pull on
Sunday, and free entertainment Friday and Saturday nights.
We’re not the biggest show in Illinois but we are trying to be
the best.
