THE SONG REPEATS in my head. The wheels on the bus, except I’ve substituted tractor, go round and round. Round and round.
Everywhere I turned, wheels/tires/circles fell in to my line of vision at the Rice County Steam and Gas Engines Show.
The wheels on the tractors go round and round. Round and round…
The tractor parade on Sunday afternoon.
Among the oldest of wheels.
An aged steering wheel.
Oh, to overhear this conversation between the wheels of a John Deere tractor.
Rims at the flea market.
Adding 100-pound wheel weights for the tractor pull.
The wheels on the tractor go round and round at the tractor pull. I had to walk away as the noise was deafening and I am already deaf in one ear.
More my type of wheel on a Unique “Dependable” Typewriter for sale at the flea market.
The merry-go-round wheel goes round and round.
© Copyright 2013 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Minnesota Prairie Roots 
Favorite picture: the merry go round. Perfect end for the wheel post. I love those steam threshers. We haven’t been to one of those festivals for years but when we lived in Greenville, Ohio we always went to the one they held there. It was always a fun event.
I have many fond elementary school day memories of spinning on a merry-go-round similar to the one I photographed. Ah, those were the days before parents and school districts fretted about lawsuits and safety. I don’t recall any serious injuries ever occurring on monkey bars, a merry-go-round, teeter totter, those old wooden swings or slides. Scrapes, yes.
I so agree! I often wonder (as, I’m sure, do you) how we all survived childhood with all the unsafe equipment, cribs, lead paint, etc, etc issues that existed! And not everyone was in a “stay at home” situation (work-wise) but relationships/communications between parent(s) and children were more clearly defined/observed with a lot less of the constant ‘running’ with activities. Just thinkin’ out loud…….
I’ll step onto the soapbox beside you and spout that kids today are not allowed enough free time (by many parents) to just “be kids.” While organized activities can be a good thing, I think our society has gone way overboard with this whole idea of kids needing to be in this and that and everything. I’ve observed families choosing sports, for example, over important family events and church and family holiday gatherings and other things in life, which, in my opinion, hold way more importance than some tournament. I know not everyone (and probably many) will disagree with me. But too many kids have seemingly lost the ability to play imaginatively, on their own, etc., and that saddens me. We have no one to blame but ourselves.
So well said! I think the “last straw” was when school sports activities/games/events began to be held Sunday mornings. The schools have become child-sitters with all the time consuming/robbing activities. And to go one step further…..if the young person misses a practice too many times the consequence is loss of play (tragic!?) and if that same one misses too many academic/school days they are passed right along (so their little “psyche” isn’t harmed!–sorry for the sarcasm!)
Totally agree with you on all points.
Audrey – I recently signed up for your daily blog posts and have been enjoying your thoughts a great deal. You seem to be in touch with important things.
I don’t know if you’ve heard of our Ground Level project here at MPR News, but you might be interested. In particular you might want to check out the eBook we just produced, called “Fighting for an American Countryside,” about some of the things rural Minnesotans are doing to keep their lives and communities vital. Jennifer Vogel wrote it and we included a lot of video of people around the state. I’d be curious to hear what you think of it, since your blog is a voice for much of what we talk about in the book. If you’re interested, go to http://www.mprnews.org/americancountryside. It’s a free download.
Regarding today’s “wheels” post, what in the world is that typewriter-looking thing? Does it work? I grew up with typewriters but don’t remember seeing anything like that.
Dave Peters
Editorial Director, special projects
Minnesota Public Radio News
P: 651-290-1387 | C: 651-253-1479
Blog — http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/ground-level/
Ground Level — http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/groundlevel/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/MPRGroundLevel
Dave, first, welcome to the readership of Minnesota Prairie Roots. Happy to have you here. I appreciate that you value my voice. Sharing the stories of rural Minnesota via my words and images is driven by my passion for this place of my heart.
I am familiar with MPR’s Ground Level “Fighting for an American Countryside” project and have viewed some of the showcased snippets. Thanks for the encouragement to check out the book.
As for the typewriter, I’ve never seen anything like it either and I most definitely grew up in the era of manual typewriters. The vendor selling the typewriter claims it would have worked had she had a ribbon. To me it appeared more a toy than anything. I will need to research this. I can’t recall the price tag, but it was beyond what I would spend. Otherwise I would have snapped it up.
Boys and their Toys – ha! Great Captures – Happy Thursday:)
Renee, I actually thought of that exact title, Boys and Their Toys. But then I realized that would not work as many women and girls also attend the show and are seemingly just as interested as the guys.
You got me there and yes women are into this too! I just like looking at a sexy man on a tractor – what can I say – ha:)
You said it well.
Loved all the photo’s as usual, my favorites…the green tractor and the marry go round 🙂 I love those old playground toys there are still a few around like the one in West concord that I played on as a kids and still works today, except when I try now to go on it I get very very dizzy 🙂
Laughing here, Jackie, because I can’t tolerate merry-go-rounds or swings anymore either. Imagine how I’d fare at an amusement park or carnival.
I love the photo of the old farmer-types in their suspenders looking over the tractors – and followed by the young guy in his jeans putting on the weights to the wheels – the next generation.
I would say those are probably my two favorite photos, too. And your observation is a good one connecting the two images.