North Central Illinois Steam Power Show Creates Nostalgia

nostalgia has become the current fad, the North Central Illinois
Steam Power Show held at Hedtke’s Hickory-Oaks Farm, Davis
Junction on August 7-10 had a great appeal to the hundreds of
visitors who attended the 1975 show from various states and from
foreign countries.

The idea of a Steam Power Show began 19 years ago when George
Hedtke, President of the North Central Illinois Steam Power Show,
bought his first steam engine, a threshing machine, and a 500
gallon water wagon. The complete outfit was first used by Hedtke to
thresh grain in August 1957 on a farm quarter mile west of the
present site of the show.

Hedtke plans to turn about 7 acres of the wooded area of his 45
acre farm into an agricultural museum in order to preserve a piece
of our American Heritage for future posterity. In addition to the
various steam equipment of yesterday, Hedtke is developing a
Frontier Village of old time buildings at the Hickory-Oaks
site.

A harness shop, town hall, blacksmith shop, barber shop, and a
wood carving building, have already been donated for the Village
site and are awaiting to be moved. The 105 year old harness shop
has been moved and put on a foundation at the show site, and was
open to the public during this year’s show.

The officers of the North Central Illinois Steam Power Show are
George Hedtke, president; Thomas Draus, vice-president; Emil
Svanda, secretary-treasurer; and Jon Schwartz, assistant-secretary.
About 20 people work with Hedtke in preparing and setting up the
annual steam power threshing show. Lots of help pitch in during the
four day event.

A carnival atmosphere prevailed as visitors to the show found
there was something to appeal to everyone. Youngsters of all ages
enjoyed hayrides, pony rides, and buggy rides, and the numerous
concession stands of pop-corn, cotton candy, and sno-cones.

The various steam and horse power machinery was seen by everyone
in action, and during the parade each day which began at 2 p.m. One
of the featured attractions leading the parade daily was the
Liberty Bell Float. The 810 pound bronze bell, cast in 1884, in
Cincinnati, Ohio, originally came from the Leaf River Methodist
Church.

The bell was bought at auction in November 1973 by Emil Svanda
and later was resold to Leonard Appel for a good cause. Leonard
Appel, president of the Ogle County Taxpayers Association, made a
new float and mounted the bronze bell on the float to signify the
theme, ‘Let Freedom Ring’. The bell was rung each day
during the parade.

Mrs. Ethel Hardesty of Oregon was honored as the ‘Queen’
of the 1975 Threshing Bee. Dressed in a costume such as that worn
in the early part of the century, she rode in the parade Sunday in
a horse-drawn surrey. Miss Dawn Hayenga of Kings, the 1975 Ogle
County Beef Queen, rode in the parade Sunday in a Dune buggy,
driven by her brother.

Throughout each day demonstrations were held in plowing using
steam engines and old gas tractors. Horse plowing was also
demonstrated using a team of horses on a walking plow, 3 horses on
a riding plow, and 5 horses and mules on a larger riding gang
plow.

Other daily demonstrations included threshing with the power of
12 horses, steam power threshing, and the power of old gas
tractors. Also straw baling with a wire-tie stationary baler was
demonstrated, plus saw-milling, shingle-milling, buzz saw, baker
fan, mule tread-mill, corn grinding using horses, fence and rope
making by hand, and many other demonstrations were held.

Of particular interest at the show was a model train engine
built by Ted Young of East Peoria. The engine is a 1- scale, a copy
of a Chicago-Western-Indiana Mogul locomotive, the original dating
back to 1918. Young noted that he first saw a picture of the engine
in a railroad magazine, drew up his plans, and built the model from
scratch. He completed the model, the fourth one he has built, in
1974.

Another model, which actually was in operation, was built by
Clarence Mirk of Wauwatosa, Wise. His model of a 1910 Reeves &
Company engine, powered by a belt the pulleys of a model Avery
Mfg., yellow fellow threshing machine which he also built.

Francis Johnson from Darwin, Minn., displayed a large log into
which he had carved 27 pair of pliers. The intricately carved,
smoothly sanded log remained in one piece about 5 foot in height,
with the appendage pliers, each folding into their position in the
log.

A 1919 model ‘T’ one-ton truck with a hand dump box,
caught the fancy of many, as did the many steam engines whistles,
sounding something like the train whistles, of the smoke belching
steam engines.

Also featured at the show was a 1919 model Indiana gas tractor
bought from ‘Grampa’ Jones of Hee-Haw fame. The tractor was
restored and is owned by Eldon Coates of Zwingle, Iowa.

And, of course, there were the engines themselves, numerous
owned by the president of the show. Visitors marveled at the huge
iron monsters, some with wheels 6 feet tall. Steam and soot
filtered through the air, as coal and gas was burned to heat water
which produced steam to power the tractors and engines which were a
common sight on farms several generations ago.

The largest machine in the show was a Case Company steam engine
built in 1911 weighing over 22 tons. A total of 18,000 gallons of
water had to be hauled into the show site from Monroe Center to
operate the engines.

In addition to the large engines there was a display of large
and smaller gas engines of numerous makes, and various horse drawn
wagons, plows, and other old time farm machinery. Among the oldest
pieces at the show, owned by Hedtke, was a horse-powered threshing
outfit dating back to 1889. An upright Westinghouse portable steam
engine threshing outfit also was among the oldest machinery at the
show in operation, owned by Paul Hardesty of Oregon and Jon
Schwartz of Rockford.

The steam show grounds had complete facilities with picnic
tables, seating area, and numerous concession stands which provided
cold drinks, pop-corn, cotton candy, sno-cones, sandwiches, etc.
for the visitors.

Various groups had set up a variety of displays on the grounds
for the enjoyment of many visitors. The Monroe Center Union Church
served breakfast, dinner and supper, in the huge main building
which houses Hedtke’s machinery during the winter months. The
dining room area in this building can accommodate 300 people. The
east half of the huge building is used annually by the ladies of
hobby interest and their demonstrations.

The many people who attended the exhibits and demonstrations of
agricultural methods of by-gone days, at North Central Illinois
Steam Power Show, came away with a better sense, perhaps of what
America is all about.