Homestead Old Tyme Power Show HIGHLAND, ILLINOIS

the wheat harvested and threshed the old-fashioned way, the
Southwestern Illinois Show will be only 35 miles from St. Louis, on
Interstate 70 and 17 miles north of Interstate 64 on Route 160.
Knowing what crowd-pleasers they are, Don Seifried of Highland and
the show committee already are planning more demonstrations and
more accessible displays as well as wider participation.

The show is held at the Latzer Homestead, where Louis Latzer
began life as a son of a pioneer dairy farmer and became founder
and president of the Pet Milk Company. The house, grounds and 40
acres of wheat fields now are owned by the Highland Historical
Society. The power show there is the outgrowth of a threshing
demonstration during the town’s Sesquicentennial in 1987. Still
sponsored by the society, the power shows are involving much more
of the community and participation is expanding into more of
Southern Illinois and Missiouri.

For last year’s show and demonstrations, there were eight
steam engines, more than 30 old tractors and about 20 antique
gasoline motors. A team of Belgian horses hauled the hay bundles up
to the Nichols and Shepard separator in an old hay wagon. The
separator had been restored by the late Don Weder of Highland.

Several steam engines took part in the actual threshing; these
included a 1910 Gaar-Scott of the Weder family and a 1902
Keck-Gonnerman of Joe Graziana of Wood River. Tractors on display
and in the parade included the 1916 Waterloo Boy of Bob Berberich
of Lebanon and the 1916 Mogul of Kenny Bohanon of the same area.
Gordon Kamper of Freeburg gave a plowing demonstration with his
huge 1922 Aultman-Taylor tractor with the eight-foot wheels.

Last year Bill Alexander, whose oldest gas engine on display was
a 1915-16 Fairbanks-Morse, hitched up one of his engines to run an
antique cider press. This summer, engines will be demonstrating not
only cider making, but also a shingle mill, burr mill, antique
water pumps, log sawing and other operations.

More horsemen and women from the area also will be
participating. Demonstrations of horse-drawn farming will be given
by people who still farm with horses.

Again this year, old farm implements and memorabilia will be
displayed in a restored barn built in the 1850’s. There will be
tours of the restored turn-of-the-century house. A large show-sale
of pioneer arts and crafts will be held on the spacious lawn in the
deep shade of the ancient trees. A ‘flea market’ also is
planned.

There will be plenty of food, lemonade, iced tea and soda for
participants and spectators. Ground will be provided for primitive
camping, and water is available.

For more information, call Don Seifried in the evenings at (618)
654-2581.