GENTRY -- Once again the put, put, put of old hit-and-miss engines could be heard, huge belts turned the gears of an old threshing machine, a mule provided the needed power for a rusty hay baler to bind straw into small bales, saws buzzed as logs were reduced to timbers and planed to finished lumber, and the clanking of hammers on red-hot iron turned shapeless metal into works of art and useful tools.
Yes, that's what happens every year at the Tired Iron of the Ozarks fall show, and this year's show was no different. But the show did give opportunity for club members to once again gather and show their old engines and tractors. And, most importantly, the show again offered opportunity to the many visitors to see machines at work which usually set quietly in museums or rusting in junk yards or on farmsteads.
The show, held at the club's own showgrounds on the southwest edge of Gentry last weekend, was the 23rd such annual fall show.
Attendance was down a little this year because of hot weather on Friday afternoon and damp and rainy weather on Saturday. On Friday, club members looked for a shady spot to sit and visit. On Saturday, a few gathered around a fire for extra warmth in the light rain. The weather on Sunday -- sunny skies and fall-like temperatures -- was much more pleasant for visitors and for those working and demonstrating their old engines and machines for the public.
New this year at the show was a mule-powered baler brought by Greg Cripps. After Charlie Lacy threshed wheat with his belt-driven threshing machine, the straw was baled by mule power as Cripps led his mule in circles pulling a draw bar which powered the compactor.
Certainly a highlight of the show for club members and many who came out to see the old engines and equipment was the chance to sit down and compare notes and learn new things about life and the way things were in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The show gave to many a glimpse into the daily lives of their parents, grandparents and great-grandparents.
And now that the show has passed, the antique machines have been returned to rest. All is quiet again ... until next spring when the sounds from the past will return.
General News on 09/17/2014