National Vice President 3848 South Farm Road 93 Republic,
Missouri 65738
The Southeast Regional hosted by Branch 37, Gentry, Arkansas,
was a very good show. The attendance and number of exhibits were up
this year. Threshing, a sawmill, and a parade of equipment were
among the many activities on Saturday. There were many gas engines
on display, also.
Bill Evans had a Belle City thresher that my dad, Frank Stark,
sold new in the late 1940s. Dad was a Belle City dealer at
Billings, Missouri. Bill ‘let me’ pitch a few bundles of
wheat into the machine as Ross Staggs from Muskogee, Oklahoma,
supplied the power with his 50 HP Case steam engine.
A highlight of the show was around 2:00 p.m. Saturday afternoon
when Max Hall of Springdale, Arkansas, showed his 1956 CH-21-C
helicopter. Max, along with Clarence Woolley, have over 13,000
hours invested in restoring this aircraft. It is the only model C
that is flying today.
We had nine branches at the meeting, and afterwards, the ladies
of the club brought in a picnic supper and we had hotdogs cooked in
a bull. That was a first for me.
I did not get to attend the Northwest Regional hosted by Branch
39 at Wauconda, Illinois. Jerry Wymore, director of the East
Regional, had nothing but good words for this show. Nine branches
were in atten-dance. This show is held at the Lake County Museum
and they also had many activities going on all day. Not only did
they have tractors and engines, but they also had many farm
heritage demonstrations. Soap making, beekeeping, and sheep
herding, all things that our young people need to see so that they
can understand how Grandpa and Grandma used to make a living.
I will have a report from the National at Fort Scott, Kansas, in
the next issue. Have a great fall!
