Ramona, S. D. 57054
It is quiet now at Prairie Village 2 miles west of Madison,
South Dakota, but it wasn’t on the last week end of August 1968
when the Prairie Historical Club had their annual Threshing
Jamboree. This is where engines large and small, gas and steam
engines puffed, tooted and barked all over the place, from a
sawmill and the engine that ran it that were no more than 2 feet
long to the full-sized giants like the Big 4 30 hp., the
Minneapolis 35-70 and the steamers of all sizes Case, Nichols,
Aultman-Taylors, etc.
On the Prairie Village grounds people enjoyed touring the
restored log cabin, the country school house with school in
session, the sod house furnished as houses were at the turn of the
century, riding the steam merry-go-round, and on Sunday attending
church service at the Prairie Village Church as they did each
Sunday morning through summer from Memorial Day to Labor Day. They
enjoyed Minature Land where the model sawmills, threshing machines,
and steam engines were in operation. The Gas Engine Area was busy
where the one-lungers popped, and barked. There was every thing
from a restored vertical Maytag to a 20 H. P. Foos. At this show
everything has to be in running condition to be exhibited.
The full-sized sawmill and the shingle mill were in operation
every day, making boards, shingles and sawdust.
Grain was threshed every day with machines of all sizes.
Plowing was also done every day with an 8 bottom plow and the
big gas and steam tractors.
Each day a parade was held with all the tractors (that had
operators, many operators owned more than one engine) taking part.
More than 50 tractors ran in the parade each day. More would have
run if there had been more operators. Also in the parade were
bundle wagons and saddle horses.
Yes, it is quiet at Prairie Village now, but things will come to
life again and on the last weekend in August the big show will be
held. There will be smoke, steam, gas, and oil, the whistles, the
bark of the big engines and the pop of the little ones. See you
there!
Anyone know what this thing is?? It is a mud-dobber’s nest.
This home for wayward wasps is now completely restored by Roy Goble
of Charleston, Illinois. It is a 1? hp. Jaeger, off of a concrete
mixer.
