Where else can you go to see steam engines, ride an electric railroad, check out tons of rare tractors, antique cars, shows and watch a famous country act that night for just the cost of the show admission? Not many places.

The Mount Pleasant, Iowa, Old Threshers Reunion is a tradition that started more than 50 years ago. The first show was Sept. 20-21, 1950. Records show 15 steam engines and eight separators were exhibited, with an estimated 10,000 people attending the first Reunion.

The show has grown tremendously since that first one. Terry McWilliam of the Old Threshers Reunion said of this year’s Labor Day weekend show, “We had well over 800 antique tractors, 90 plus traction steam engines, over 500 gas engines, over 100 antique cars and trucks.”

He added that it looked like attendance was up, despite weather fluctuations. “We had weather extremes of heat on Thursday and Friday, rain on Saturday, much cooler on Sunday and a record low for temperatures on Monday morning.”

The Reunion celebrates antiques by choosing some special machines. The show engine of the year for 2011 was a 1937 25 HP Kitten that belongs to Michelle McClure and Leroy McClure of Colchester, Ill.

Among so many steam engines on-site, there was a Harrison Tractor Engine #714 built in 1882. This engine was built in Belleville, Ill., and is the only one known to exist with a smokestack through the steam dome. The engine is quite pretty but, according to the owner Steve Kunz, “(It) was buried in the Missouri River for 40 years.”

The antique car of the year was a 1929 Chandler four-door owned by Jim and Judy Gerdes of Fort Madison, Iowa, and the antique truck of the year was a 1923 Ford T.T. Hearse owned by Ron and Teresa Carver of Mount Pleasant. The tractor of the year was owned by Eddie Ward of German Valley, Mo. – a 1945 International A.

At the Mount Pleasant show there were an array of homemade and kit tractors. One tractor the owner dubbed The Harper Special was built in 1944 by Wilmer Harper in Osceola, Mo.

“He used oak for the frame and what he could get from a salvage yard for the rest. The engine is a 1922 Model Ford,” wrote owner Jim Daw of Montrose, Iowa.

Another model tractor conversion kit had Pullford gears, owner Dean Yoder of Iowa City, Iowa, shared: “This was their first kit car to tractor. You take it off and you can convert it in half an hour. This is the later stripped car model tractor.

“I am sure a binder or two gave their life for these dual tires. I know these are binder wheels, but I don’t know what kind.”

Besides his tractor, Dean also had a beautiful 1924 Model T. “This is my vacation vehicle,” he explained. “The Model T has been to 49 states, and six Canadian provinces and two territories. I went as far north as you could go!”

Dean retired in 2008 from a telephone company and he and his first cousin, Reg, headed out. “When we traveled, we pulled a vintage trailer and often just camped.”

The show’s featured engine was manufactured by Bates and Edmonds Co. of Lansing, Mich. The engine belongs to Travis Benner of Blue Grass, Iowa.

This show grows a bit each year and the group follows the creed of creating good, wholesome fun for families where they can gather and learn about tractors from the past. The website wraps it up: “In its first 50-plus years, the Old Threshers Reunion has grown to be recognized as the largest event of its kind in the country. People visit from every state in the union and numerous foreign countries.

“Visitors number around 50,000 each year at the five-day event, always ending on Labor Day. The original show was presented on the fairgrounds but has grown to cover more than 180 acres.”

Readers with questions or comments for Cindy Ladage may write to her in care of this publication.