Preparations are being made for the 2012 Threshing bee by the Antique Tractor Club (known as the South Central Antique Tractor & Machinery Association). This year however, will host the National Threshing bee at the Huntley Project Museum on Aug. 18 and 19th. There will be
The Huntley Project Threshing Bee is held each year the third weekend in August (for 2012: August 18th & 19th) at the Huntley Project Museum of Irrigated Agriculture and is the highlight of the club’s yearly activities. This is the time of the year when the club members bring out their latest restoration of a tractor, stationary engine, or demonstrate their expertise in blacksmithing, binding grain, threshing, sawmill operation, as well as operating tractors and steam engines.
In addition to the things that used to be done on a farm at the threshing bee, the members also compete with each other in a slow tractor race, where the slowest tractor wins! They also demonstrate their tractor skills in a barrel race, where antique tractors are used to push a barrel across a finish line. A tractor balance, like the teeter-totter that we all played with in grade school only for a tractor and his driver, also demonstrates the operators’ skill (and luck!). For the smaller kids, the members sponsor a kiddee pedal tractor pull, where the younger set can test their strength and skills. About the middle of each day of the two-day threshing bee, a parade of power is held, where each mobile piece of equipment is paraded and shown off to the spectators. A thresher lunch is available at noon each day. Musical entertainment is also provided at the Threshing Bee.
