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'Time machines' to transport visitors to days gone by
John Alsdorf fondly recalls the threshermen’s dinners he enjoyed when he was young.
“We’d all go out to the neighbor’s farm and thrash the grain out,” he said. “And after that, everybody would get together and have dinner. I was just a kid when we’d do that.”
It’s in the spirit of those long-ago get-togethers that the 60-year-old Alsdorf has hosted the French Creek Valley Antique Equipment Club’s Spring Show and Plow Day for the past 11 years. The 12th edition of the event is today starting at 8 a.m. at Alsdorf’s farm in Cochranton.
Each year the Spring Show and Plow Day draws antique farm equipment buffs from western Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio to Alsdorf’s farm to display their antique tractors and to watch them in action.
“We have equipment from the 1930s to the mid-’60s,” Alsdorf said. “Some will be a
little older and some a little newer. And we could have a few teams of horses.
“And you don’t have to plow. Some people just come to show their tractors off.”
The number of participants at the plow day has grown over the years.
“It started from five or six tractors, and we’ve had around 22 to 25 tractors the last few years,” said Alsdorf, who himself owns a 1937 Farmall F20.
Alsdorf said the event started when friends of his were looking for a place to give their antique tractors a spin.
“(Plow Day) got started by the French Creek Antique Equipment Club,” he said. “A lot of the members work regular jobs and they just have a house and a lot and they would ask me if I could provide a place to plow.
“They grew up on a farm and now they’re suburban people. But they have a tractor and some antique equipment but they don’t have anywhere to use it.
“That’s how this got started. And it’s grown into a nice event.”
The Spring Show and Plow Day features a communal meal around 11:30 a.m.
“We have a tureen dinner,” Alsdorf said. “We supply a drink and hot dogs and sloppy joes. And everyone brings a covered dish.”
The event is free. But most people find a way to help out.
“It’s free to go,” Alsdorf said. “We have donation jars to help cover expenses. And people have been pretty good about that.
“But you can come in, see things and it won’t cost you a penny. Just drive in, we’ll get you parked. You can watch the horses and get to see some antique tractors.”
Alsdorf said that as the day goes on they’ll plow approximately 30 of his 56 acres.
And when it’s all over, Alsdorf’s neighbor, Chris Shearer, who farms the land, will finish the soil preparation and then plant the crops.
However, Shearer’s equipment will be a little more up-to-date then those in action today.
“When we’re done playing (Shearer) will refit the ground,” said Alsdorf, “He’s doing it like these modern guys, dual-wheel stuff, 20-foot equipment.
“He can just make fools out of us.”
You can go
The French Creek Valley Antique Equipment Club’s 12th annual Spring Show and Plow Day begins about 8 a.m. today at the John Alsdorf Farm, 1.5 miles north of Cochranton on Route 173. Admission is free; however, donations will be accepted. Anyone staying for lunch, scheduled for approximately 11:30 a.m., is asked to take a covered dish.
Pete Chiodo can be reached at 724-6370 ext. 275 or by e-mail at pchiodo@meadvilletribune.com.
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