Franklin Grove goes back in time

Scenes from the Harvest Festival.

FRANKLIN GROVE - The Living History Antique Equipment Association held their 32nd annual show Aug. 4 and 5, 2012, in conjunction with the Franklin Grove Harvest Festival. On Saturday a new feature was added to the multitude of events at the show. Along with the old time threshing, sawmill, and rock crushing, the use of a horse-drawn corn binder was demonstrated. Field corn had been planted in a plot on the show grounds in the spring and Jeff, Aaron, and Avery Shaw from Amboy used three horses to pull the John Deere corn binder, which cut and bound bundles of cornstalks. The bundles were then picked up manually and put into teepee shaped stacks, which would have been left to dry in the good old days.

The children enjoyed a straw scramble for coins and a petty zoo. Both men and women visited the craft building to find something for sale at the large assortment of books, tools, crafts, and rummage sale items. Everyone had a chance to ride on a tractor-pulled wagon that toured the entire grounds where you could enjoy all the sights without a lot of walking.

Even though events closed a little early Saturday afternoon to avoid the much needed rain that fell in the area, Sunday dawned clear and cooler for a continuation of the demonstrations.

Row upon row of mostly vintage and restored tractors lined the grounds, along with an area specifically set up for displays of gas engines, some hooked up to various pieces of equipment to show how they were once used.

As everything was being cleared up and cleaned up, there was already talk about next year's show.