Americana" made itsdebute at Port Royal
i hundreds of people visiting the five-day
ut over 45 acres. The show is a dream come
Sheaffer, upper left The nostalgia-oriented
, who owns 1,000 agricultural antiques,
d the show to attract national attention. The
line was of special interest to onlookers,
(above right) delighted in being buried by
it of the thresher.
Lancaster Fanning Photos
by Dieter Krieg
proud to have milked the
first 1,000-pound butterfat
cow in that area. He left the
farm in 1960 to go to school;
spent some time in the
service; and is currently
working on his masters
degrees in biology and in
dustrial arts.
When I met Sheaffer, he
was busy cutting wood for
one of the steam tractors
which participated in the
agricultural exhibition he is
pioneering. Wiping sweat
from his brow, he took a few
minutes of bis time between
“chores” to discuss his plans
and explain items of interest.
The large, steam-powered
“iron horse” caught my
attention right from the start
as did the team of horses
and the wagons they were
pulling and the threshing
machines.
“One of these steam
tractors can easily pull a 12-
bottom plow, and uproot
trees with trunks measuring
10 inches in diameter,” hie
explained. Surprisingly, his
►/ another age
lf4oo Prick steam tractor
was rated at only 18 hor
sepower. But he said this
figure was Just a rating of its
day and misleading by
today's standards.
“Isn’t this fascinating,”
one middle-aged man in the
crowd said. “Yes,” said the
other, but it’s not Just that
for me it brings back a lot
of fond memories.”
likewise for me. Although
I do not recall the days of
steam tractors, the old time
threshing machines were
still in use for several years
after I was bom, and nothing
thrilled me more during the
summer than to see those
fascinating machines in
action. I watched them until
the dust and chaff had
covered me completely and
left only when threatened
with a spanking. After that I
lay awake for part of the
night, listening to the lively
sounds of threshing mixed
with that of frogs and
crickets.
Those were summer
evenings I won’t forget ...
the hum and muffled roar of
the threshing machines, the
chirping of crickets, the
croaking of frogs ... while
the light of the full moon
came through my bedroom
window.
Here at the Port Royal
show, the smell of oats,
steam, and burning wood
was strong as men prepared
for threshing, with directions
from Sheaffer. The horse
drawn wagon pulled into
position. The steam tractor
crept to its destination at a
snail’s pace, surprising
onlookers by its silence
during the entire operation.
With belt in place, the
<(
engineer” tugged at the
whistle, released the dutch,
and opened the throttle. The
cylinder pulsed and thum
ped, picking up speed
rapidly. The flywheel spun
and the belt slapped up and
down for a moment until it
built up momentum. From
then on it was excitement for
everyone and nostalgia for
those who could remember
the days when such activities
didn’t have to be staged.
Hie chaff blew around
vigorously near the
| Continued on Pace 24)
Lancaster R
23,1978—21