Small Town Festivals

Just over a week ago, Threshing Days took place in my hometown (population: 550). Yes, the event that causes the town's population to swell to many times its normal levels for a few days.

This year, I had no camera with me. So you will not see a photo of the line of 1930-era tractors at the bank drive-through window, unfortunately.

However, I did have my camera with me previous years, so I'll be posting some photos here soon.

So what can you do at Threshing Days? Well, here are some of my favorites:

• Admire the 24-ton flywheel on a large Diesel engine. (Or the engine itself, weighing 25 tons). Yes, they actually fire up this thing every year.


• Walk through the house that originally stood on my parents' farm, and was owned by my great-grandfather.


• Visit the one-room schoolhouse that my uncle attended. Maybe even sit in some of the original chairs.


• Admire some of the old tractors (some of them steam-powered). These are monstrous machines. Very impressive.


• Eat some traditional Russian Mennonite food (the best part!). Or settle for some funnel cakes.


• Watch the parade down Main Street (length of parade route: about 2/3 mile. length of Main St.: 1 mile).


• See the tractor tug-of-wars, tractor races, or (my favorite) the slow tractor races. Last one over the finish line without stalling wins.


• Watch a threshing crew in action, using a historic threshing machine and old tractors to power it.


• See how to bake in a brick oven, then sample the result.


• See the scale model house my grandfather built.


• Hear stories of small town life 100 years ago.