The event, sponsored by the Mid-Iowa Antique Power Association, appealed to farming enthusiasts and casual viewers alike, and it ran from Friday morning to Sunday afternoon on the property just south of the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office just off of Highway 30 between Marshalltown and State Center.

Throughout the weekend, lines of antique John Deere tractors and farm equipment were on display, and an exhibition of Fairbanks and Morse gas engines drew visitors. Different equipment demonstrations were going on all weekend. One team ran a sawmill from the 1950s cutting huge logs into planks and awing spectators. In addition to the sawmill, other teams demonstrated steam engine threshing, a shingle mill, and tractor plowing, among other activities.

Paul Sams, who has been a Power Association board member off and on for about 20 years, said the event generally draws between 1,700 and 2,000 people, and while some of those attendees only come for one day, others attend all weekend since the $10 charge to get in only applies once.

Most of the exhibition items and events were pretty routine, though Sams said they had a few new exhibitors as well as an 80-horsepower steam engine on the grounds that hadn’t been displayed during the power show for several years.

A team demonstrates how to use a saw mill from the 1950s at the 38th annual Steam Threshing and Plowing Show.

Sams felt the gas engines on display were a popular exhibit because not many of the visitors had encountered them before.

“A lot of people come and look through the gas engines,” Sams said. “The gas engines, most of them are early 1900s, so they’re older than the people who are out here, and a lot of them are not really familiar with (the engines), so, it’s kind of a nice exhibit.”

Nearby the gas engines exhibit, Sams manned a rope making station, where he let people choose what type of string they wanted to turn into a rope, and they could crank the machine and twist it themselves. Kids could even use these ropes for jump-roping and take them home as a souvenir.

“That’s kind of a fun thing for them, to twist their own ropes and have a rope to take home,” Sams said.

Throughout the weekend, attendees could spot various teams of draft horses participating in different scheduled events, including a team of American Cream Draft Horses, a rare breed with limited numbers worldwide.

Mid-Iowa Antique Power Association Board Member Paul Sams demonstrates how to twist a rope on Saturday morning during the annual Steam Threshing and Plowing Show

Food trucks were also available on the grounds, and the Beekman’s Homemade Ice Cream truck had their ice cream making machines on display. Not only could viewers enjoy their ice cream, but they could see how it was made, too.

The 2022 show came to a close on Sunday, and on top of the routine events, there was live music and a short worship service in the morning.

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Contact Susanna Meyer at 641-753-6611 or smeyer@timesrepublican.com.

Antique gas engines were on display throughout the weekend during the 38th annual Steam Threshing and Plowing Show