By CINDY LADAGE
Illinois Correspondent ATKINSON, Ill. — Downtown Atkinson is getting ready to celebrate its 151st year with the annual Atkinson Heritage Days Celebration scheduled for Sept. 14-16.
At the same time, the 48th Atkinson Antique Engine and Tractor Working Farm Show will take place.
This year’s featured tractor is Massey, and the Massey Collectors Club of Illinois will be at the show along with other makes and models. One of those other models is Skip Farnam’s, John Deere A that he used while farming.
“I bring it to the show every year,” the retired farmer said. “I have been in this club 46 of the 48 years it has been going.”
Stepping back in time is what the Working Farm Show is all about. For those who like to watch steam, there will be some oat threshing along with a wide variety of other equipment demonstrations.
“We open on Friday and we do a little threshing,” Farnam said. “We also sawmill, using a wood shingle.”
With the wood shingle blade, the group cuts cedar shingles. Its members will also combine beans and pick corn, and Farnam added, “We also will have a demonstration of hand picking corn and plowing.”
On Saturday and Sunday, there will be antique tractor and garden pulls, as well as presentations from Master Gardener Craig Hignight and “Peggy the Plant Lady.”
The show has been going on for almost a half a century, but it moved about from one place to another until it found a permanent home in Atkinson. “This event started with the Early Day Gas Engine Club out of Mt. Pleasant, Iowa,” Farnam said. “They had branch groups and one of our members invited us to start a group of our own.
“We started our first show in Geneseo, Illinois, in the park. Then we went to Ronnie Miller’s farm, then to the town of Buda for a couple years.”
The show was then moved to Johnson’s 1910 farm before the club relocated it once more to Ivan Wilerman’s farm, where Farnam said it was for about four years. After that, the group moved to the Atkinson sales barn and, after the town provided it a patch of land, he said, “We have been here ever since.”
On the grounds, the club has a stationary sawmill building and a storage building for dinners. The meal this year is being catered by Trapper’s Creek of Geneseo. There will also be food stands available on the grounds, and Farnam added, “There will also be kettle corn and homemade ice cream made by people from Tennessee – last year, they sold 96 gallons.”
The town of Atkinson was settled by immigrants from a variety of countries. Rita Yordy of the Heritage Days planning committee said the largest numbers to settle in Atkinson were from Belgium and Holland. They arrived around the 1860s.
These groups brought with them traditions that can still be seen in the Heritage Days celebration today. One example is the game of Rolle Bolle. Yordy explained a bit about this traditional game.
“It is like Bocce Ball,” she began. “It is a Belgian bowling game. You have a stationary target, and there is a peg in the ground. You roll the bolle, which is a wide disc that is flat on both sides and has beveled edges toward the peg. The one closest to the peg gets points and wins.”
For those who like culinary delights, at Heritage Days the community serves the traditional Belgium dinner Hutestot, boiled meat and potatoes, at the town hall.
To learn more about the history of Atkinson, stop by the Atkinson Museum during the festival. Check out www.Atkinson.il.com for more details on the celebration.
From the Working Farm Show, Heritage Days is easily accessible, and a shuttle will be going between the events. For details about the farm show, contact Farnam at 309-944-4982 or visit www.atkinson-engine-tractor-assoc.com
This farm news was published in the Aug. 22, 2007 issue of Farm World, serving Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan and Tennessee. |
