vintage tractors | Minnesota Prairie Roots

Old-fashioned fun for the kids at vintage farm show September 9, 2024

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 5:00 AM
Tags: agriculture, animals, barrel train, Dundas, farming, history, horse-drawn wagon ride, kids activities, Minnesota, Rice County Steam & Gas Engines Fall Show, rural life, vintage merry-go-round, vintage tractors, yesteryear

*Taking a spin on the merry-go-round at the Rice County Steam & Gas Engines Fall Show. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2024)*

I LOVE WATCHING KIDS engage in activities from “the olden days.” Like circling on a vintage merry-go-round which, in today’s world, would fail all safety standards. But at the Rice County Steam & Gas Engines showgrounds in rural Dundas, playground and farm equipment of yesteryear, with all its inherently “dangerous” aspects, takes center stage. Common sense and caution are required at the bi-annual event which draws people of all ages. I observed a lot of young families at the recent Labor Day weekend farm show.

*Train rides were a popular attraction with kids waiting in line to climb aboard. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2024)*

*Tractors truly are a focal point of the farm show. This mini International sits on a train car. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2024)*

*Horse-drawn wagon rides, too, drew lots of riders of all ages. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2024)*

From a ride on a mini replica train, to rides on tractors, in horse-drawn wagons, and in a barrel train, kids have plenty to do here.

Windy Willow Farm Adventure, rural Northfield, provided animals housed in this shed. There were sheep, goats, rabbits, geese and chickens from the farm, plus horses. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2024)

*Two friendly goats vie for attention. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2024)*

*Tubs and buckets of corn await shelling. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2024)*

There are also clothes to feed through a ringer washer, corn to shell, animals to pet, a reel lawnmower to push and more.

*The “engineer” of the barrel train steers a 1950s era Ford tractor around the showgrounds. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2024)*

*Without rails, the barrel train weaves among the vintage tractors at the farm show. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2024)*

*Colorful, curving, quaint…barrel train. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2024)*

Anytime anyone can get kids outdoors, off their electronic devices and learning rural history, it’s a good thing. Organizers of the steam & gas engines show clearly understand the importance of activities that keep kids busy and happy while adults watch the tractor pull, listen to music, mill around the vintage tractors and more as they connect in this rural community gathering.

*Father and son circle on a 1010 Model early 1960s John Deere pulling a cultivator. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2024)*

Most kids, even those from greater Minnesota, aren’t growing up “rural” anymore. Even if they live in the country, they’re not necessarily farm kids. So it’s important to expose them to the area’s agricultural heritage. The old tractors. The old farm machinery. The way clothes were washed and lawns were cut and how kids played back in the day.

*The day after he competed in the pedal tractor pull and earned second place, this little guy was back pedaling. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo September 2024)*

A kids’ pedal tractor pull contest engages youth, allows them to compete, show off their strength. It’s also a way to build memories so that years from now perhaps they will bring their own kids to the Rice County Steam & Gas Engines Show. They’ll remember those merry-go-round rides and how they climbed into a horse-drawn wagon and how they pedaled with all their leg power to get a mini tractor across a finish line. In the end, we all cross the finish line. And sometimes getting there requires experiencing a little danger mixed with a whole lot of fun.

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A last-look photo essay from a Minnesota steam & gas engines show, Part V September 13, 2017

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 5:00 AM
Tags: agriculture, Dundas, farm show, flea market, Minnesota, photo essay, photography, Rice County Steam & Gas Engines Show, rural life, vintage tractors

IT’S ALL ABOUT the vintage tractors for many participants and attendees:

For others, the flea market is the main draw:

Larry and Nicholas Ahrens of The Brown Barn Works craft garden art from scrap metal and more.

New caps are sold by the Rice County Steam & Gas Engines Show.

Under a vendors’ table, I spotted these horses and other merchandise.

People have to eat. You’ll always find something tasty in the food court area:

Randy and I stopped for a mid-afternoon glass of freshly-squeezed lemonade. During the noon hour, this dining area is packed.

When feet tire, you can ride on this horse-drawn wagon or in a bring-your-own golf cart:

Old-time music draws attendees to the music barn:

The Czech Area Concertina Club performs.

For kids (and some adults) the vintage playground equipment entertains:

A view of the merry-go-round in the background from the front of a vintage tractor. There’s a handcrafted seesaw (which Randy and I rode) in between.

When you can’t keep up with the kids/grandkids at the playground, you just have to rest.

THE END:

Randy and I followed this tractor off the show grounds northbound on Minnesota State Highway 3 toward Dundas.

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Historic Winona drive-in hosts Farm Tractor Night & I was there September 4, 2014

Filed under: Uncategorized — Audrey Kletscher Helbling @ 6:00 AM
Tags: drive-in, Farm Tractor Night, food, Lakeview Drive Inn, Minnesota, photo essay, rural life, tractor show, travel, vintage tractors, Winona, yesteryear

A John Deere rounds the corner onto the 600 block of East Sarnia Street where the drive-in is located.

TRACTORS RUMBLED INTO WINONA’S Lakeview Drive Inn parking lot on a perfect Minnesota evening in late August. Ideal temps. Sun edging behind the bluffs in this Mississippi River town of nearly 28,000.

Drive-in fare served in a paper lined basket.

Folks reminisced and downed burgers, onion rings and more served in red plastic baskets lined with checkered paper.

A few cars, some vintage, managed to sneak into the drive-in among all the tractors.

Just like the old days. Root beer crafted on-site at the 1938 drive-in and served in frosty mugs by car hops.

Rows of tractors ringed Lakeview Drive Inn.

My husband and I happened upon historic Lakeview’s annual Farm Tractor Night while returning from a vacation to Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin. What a delight.

One view of Farm Tractor Night.

We were first introduced to Lakeview when our eldest daughter attended Winona State University, several blocks away, 10 years ago. I even wrote a magazine feature article on this vintage drive-in.