Despite scorching heat and a black out that left many areas in Saskatchewan without power, Vintage Power Machines Museum celebrated their 45th Annual Threshing Festival on July 11-12.
“It got really hot both days and that kind of hurt us a little bit, but today really picked up again,” said Alan Andal, President of the Vintage Power Machines Museum. “It has come back again a lot so I think we’ll do very well for the year.”
The Vintage Power Machines is located 10 kilometres southwest of Prince Albert along Highway 11.
The festival consisted blacksmith demonstrations, threshing demonstrations, a vintage tractor pull, activities for people of all ages, and a pancake breakfast on both Saturday and Sunday from 8:00a.m. to 11:00a.m. provided by Smitty’s Restaurant and Lounge in Prince Albert.
Smitty’s also provided bouncy castles for families with kids to enjoy, while staff workers also volunteered their time to provide a food concession for the festival.
“Early this morning I felt very sorry for the staff and people that are helping us. (We) started late because we had to get power generators to get the equipment running, and coolers cooled again. We had about 5 to 7 generators going until the power came back on,” said Andal on Sunday June 12, when asked about how the power blackout affected the festivities.
Andal went further to express grattitude for Mark and Owen Walker, owners of Smitty’s in Prince Albert for continued support of the Vintage Power Machines Museum.
Visitors were able to visit the Vintage Power Machines Museum Visitor Centre, Donnybrook School built in 1907, the Giles Family Farm House built in 1901, the antique General Store, and a stationary engine being exhibited for viewing.
Axe Throwing demonstrations were showcased on Saturday, followed by Tractor Pulls on Sunday.
The Tractor Pulls consist of 8 events for tractors to pull against each other, depending on factors such as weight classes, size and strength, with the winners bringing home first, second and third place trophies.
The weight classes range from below 3500 pounds, up to 10,000 pounds or more.
“It’s a real fight to see, and it’s measured on how far they can go and how long it takes them to a point,” said Andal.
Blacksmith demonstrations, Threshing Machine demonstrations, Gold Milling demonstrations, and Saw Mill demonstrations on both days were also provided for visitors to experience.
Threshing demonstrations are shown by a vintage threshing machine, the blueprint modern combines.
The museum also owns a vintage saw mill machine, and a old style shingle mill that is currently not in service.
All three vintage power machines are pulled by a tractor, which consists of a pulley-belt system that drives the machines.
Cash draws from gate entry tickets were pulled for lucky visitors, and a silent auction took place with over 135 items donated by the community.
“We had a really great response this year. We had well over 135-140 items donated for our silent auction, we’ve never had more that half of that on average. So we can’t say our community didn’t support us,” expressed Andal.
President Andal explained Vintage Power Machines Museum’s main goal is to preserve the history of Saskatchewan farming equipment, and to provide older farmer’s with something to show their next generations about their past.
“We try to keep up a lot of what’s been the heritage of the province, where a lot of the old equipment was used and why, and how it’s developed into more modern (models) now,” explained Andal.
The funds raised from the festival will go towards revitalizing current buildings with paint and repairs, replacing buildings that are falling apart, and continuing work on the new canteen building.
The Vintage Power Machines Museum has been working on an building and entity that will consist of a new canteen and kitchen, and a meeting room to host the annual silent auction.
Andal also explained they are looking at building a new structure for the antique hardware store, and replacing the current quoncet to house their restored tractors.
He also said the museum hasn’t been making as much progress as they would’ve liked, and are not usually open on a regular basis due to the lack of volunteers and members.
Andal looks forward to the completion of the restoration and construction of the buildings, and hopes that the projects are completed in time for next year’s festival.
