September 2, 2007

Today Bill took us to the Hesston Steam Show in his 1927 Model T Ford. He only drove about 25 miles but when the top speed in a Model T is 35 mph it takes a while. Bill drove on State highways, blacktop side roads and a dirt road on the way there. It was the perfect speed and such a delightful ride through the countryside.

As you can imagine, the steam show features lots of steam engines. There was all size of engines to watch operate. From small Hit & Miss engines for pumping water or grinding grain to a very large train locomotive that used to pull lumber cars in the mountains.

Here, our nephew, Todd and a friend, are using a large 50 horsepower Case tractor to power a thrashing machine for a wheat harvesting demonstration.

Approximately every 30 minutes these large machines need to be oiled. I don’t know how many places needed attention but we watched as Todd moved all around and up and down to accomplish this task.

These coal-fired monsters produce lots of smoke and throw off lots of oil when working. It is a dirty job but one that Todd enjoys doing.

We also had the opportunity to see an old sawmill in operation. They were cutting logs into 2 x 4 lumber as we watched.

I was surprised as to how labor intensive it is to run a sawmill. There were two men operating the saw and at least four men catching and handling the finished cut lumber.

We took a ride on this small railroad. It was a nice 15 – 20 minutes ride through a wooded area and over several small bridges. About half way through the ride we stopped because the conductor signaled the engineer that the last car had come off the tracks. Because of the small size of this train, the engineer made it look easy as he picked up the car and put it back on the tracks and then continued to the station.

There also were vintage tractors and cars at the show. There was a parade of the tractors in the afternoon. Many of them were restored to almost perfect original condition. Here are a few examples of the tractors.

This is a Russell steam powered tractor.

This is a Rumely Oil Pull tractor made in our hometown of La Porte, Indiana.

This is a rare early Allis Chalmers tractor.

They only made 100 of this 1960 articulated John Deere Tractor.

This is a 1947 John Deere B tractor that was restored by the FFA club at River Valley High School in Three Oaks, Michigan. This tractor will be raffled on October 7 at the River Valley Antique Power Association Festival. I think we may have purchased the winning ticket today.

Later in the evening, we went to visit one of our high school classmates, Dick Bartmess and his wife Jean. He has built a little retreat for his family and friends to enjoy on his farm. There is a pond stocked with bluegill, bass and catfish for leisurely fishing. He made the area large enough for all kinds of campers from tents to large RVs. He and Jean like to spend their weekends in the cabin they built that looks out over the pond.

This is his cabin with a loft sleeping area.

We sat around a fire until after dark and the mosquitoes became unbearable. Before we left, Dick showed us some furniture they are making and their large woodworking shop. They have all the tools necessary to turn rough lumber into magnificent handcrafted furniture.