YESTERYEAR IN MOTION

By Staff
Published on May 1, 1978

3139 Dillon Rd, Jamestown, N.C. 27282

Our 76 show last September 18, really started last spring. We
had a small field of spring oats that developed rather tall straw.
The word was spread around that anyone interested in trying their
hand with a cradle, to bring one and meet at the field. At one time
there were six of us cutting and several tying; the way it was done
years ago, not with twine but the oats straw itself.

After it was all cut and tied we shocked it in the field to be
put in the shed later to be used at our September show. There may
be some eyebrows raised at the word ‘shocked’ but had you
used any other word in our locale no one would know what you were
talking about. Anyway, it is standing about twelve to twenty
bundles upright in a circle or row and placing two bundles on top
as caps.

Along with this we were planting cane to make molasses at the
show. There again some may use the words sorghum and sorghum syrup.
The mill and cooking vat also had to be assembled, including
finding a pole with the right crook in it to hitch the mule to for
turning the mill.

Show dates don’t wait until you get ready-hey just come on
and it did. Some of the fellows with their engines were there about
sun-up and by ten, the woods were really popping with them running
their engines. By this time there was a good line of old gas
tractors, smoke coming from the stacks of boilers and Brown Siler
had his mule hooked to the cane mill grinding cane.

By eleven, Claude Moore, Wayne Swaim and several other helpers
had the thresher put down after Dale Idol pulled it in with his
mules. Several of the tractors tried their power to the thresher,
baler and corn shredder.

Brown Loflin and Howard Latham used their Frick Portable to pull
Bobby Cartner’s shingle mill. He brought some cedar blocks with
him and really made some fine shingles which was understandable,
because he had done a very fine job of restoring his mill to what I
would say was better than the day it was new.

Some time earlier I had invited Dahl Rich to come to the show
and try his luck at getting my 50 horsepower Chicago Pneumatic
Diesel to run. His father bought this engine new in the early teens
and he said he thought he remembered how they did it when it was
pulling their brick yard machinery. Just before noon he put his old
touch to it and it ran for the first time it had in some fifty
years. Even the makeshift cooling tower worked, that we had put
together about one o’clock that morning. When it sounded off
people began to assemble to see what was taking place. We started
it several more times during the afternoon.

James and Lina Riggs made about thirty bushels of apples into
cider and sold it all. By late afternoon the vat of molasses was
ready to take off the fire and we had a waiting line to get some of
it. We also had a good line of antique cars and Van Rich and his
portable blacksmith shop.

Everyone seemed to have an enjoyable day and the Good Lord gave
us good weather and watched over our safety.

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