GENTRY — The sputter of old engines, the buzz of the sawmills and the hammering of hot metal on the anvils was again heard on the grounds of the Tired Iron of the Ozarks, just south of Gentry, last weekend.

The 21st annual fall Antique Engine and Tractor Show was in full swing Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the club’s show grounds. And once again new features were added and the numbers seemed to grow in spite of the wet weather Friday afternoon and evening.

The show was just getting started on Friday morning, and already there was much to see. Old tractors - many restored to pristine condition - lined the driveway of the show grounds. Old engines with large spinning flywheels sputtered and smoked. Two saw mills were in operation, cutting logs into timbers and boards. Wheat was being threshed with big belts powering a McCormick-Deering threshing machine even though deer had consumed much of the grain while itwas still bound and standing in the field. Metal was being heated red hot and hammered into shape to make tools and decorative artifacts. And the show grounds were filling with booths, showing engines old and new and displaying numerous antique tools and machines. And the show was just getting started - it was far busier on Saturday and Sunday.

The club holds the shows to inform and educate the general public about farm life in the early 20th century. And the shows give those who love to restore and work with old engines the chance to show them off and explain their purpose and function.

Visitors had the opportunity not only to see old tractors and engines; they could ride on a people-mover hay wagon or even learn to drive a tractor on one of the two tractors outfitted with dual seats and controls. One of the tractors, painted pink, was on display to raise money to fight breast cancer.

On Saturday, the Blacksmith Organization of Arkansas was there to demonstrate the blacksmith tradewhich was once a major part of every farming community. Local musicians joined in old-time gospel favorites.

A parade of power was held at noon each day of the show, with tractors fired up and driven in a parade past spectators on the show grounds.

Tired Iron of the Ozarks, a club dedicated to the preservation and exhibition of antique engines and tractors, is located at 13344 Taylor Orchard Road, Gentry. The 17-acre show grounds belong to the club and are used for meetings and annual shows.

On the show grounds are a 1907 log cabin which is being restored, a blacksmith shop, a clubhouse, a sawmill, a large pavilion, an antique exhibit building and a recreational vehicle park with over 30 spaces.

In addition to their two annual shows each spring and fall, the members of Tired Iron of the Ozarks participate in a number of civic functions, such as parades, farm shows, automobile shows, boat shows, county fairs, tractor pulls and other festivals throughout northwest Arkansas, northeast Oklahoma, southeast Kansas and southwest Missouri. Members generously, and at their own expense, display and demonstrate their personally-owned tractors and engines.

Tired Iron of the Ozarks was organized in May of 1992 with approximately30 members meeting at the Highfill Community Center. The club has grown to approximately 170 members.

Tired Iron of the Ozarks is a nonprofit educational and historical organization dedicated to the promotion, collection, restoration, preservation and exhibition of gasoline and antiqueengines, tractors, powerdriven machines and other equipment of historical value. Tired Iron of the Ozarks is Branch 37 of the Early Day Gas Engine and Tractor Association, which was formed in 1957.

For more information, call club president Glenn Smith at 736-2841.

Lifestyles, Pages 6 on 09/12/2012