PINCKNEYVILLE, Ill. – It is getting late in the year for the antique tractor shows.  The Fall Festival in Pinckneyville is one of the last ones of the season before the shows turn indoors, and the farm toy show season kicks off. This show is a little different from many of the farm shows in that it has an educational twist. The show was Oct. 14-16 with the 14th set aside for school children that visited. They attended corn school, learning what products were made from corn, and saw many other fun activities like broom and rope making demonstrations.

During the show, visitors got the full fall scene with apples from Flamm orchards being converted into apple cider and apple butter. There was sorghum squeezing, and cooking taking place, and a country store with pumpkins and fall goodies galore.

The corn demonstration included some play areas for the kiddos with a mini corn bin on a trailer, and corn pit where kids could use trucks and other pieces of equipment to move the grain from place to place. There were also various types of corn grinders that children could try out as well.

For the older “kids” there were steam engines on hand as well as a whole area filled with engine activity. Collector Tom Jansen shared what he brought from home to the American Thresherman show. He had his Massey Harris engine running an ice cream maker, a 6-horsepower International Model M engine and a concrete mixer from the 1930s. “They used to use wheelbarrows, before this,” Jansen shared.

He said what an improvement the mixer was. “This would have been used for construction or on the farm,” Jansen added.

His favorite engine he brought was his 25-horsepower Superior engine. “This came out of the oil fields of Kentucky. They used it to pump oil in the oil fields.”

Besides his own items, Tom Jansen also had his cousin Bill and Phyllis Jansen’s Fairbanks Morse Z engine that was once used to run a threshing machine. Annie Jansen had her 1946 Minneapolis Moline that was restored in 2013 by the Jansen Brothers out of Sigel, Ill. Annie Jansen joked that the GTA designation means, Give To Annie!

For those looking for some animal displays, they could check out the draft horse and pony action. Kids could also enjoy a ride on the train. Another neat animal encounter was the mule turning the Chattanooga Plow cane mill. An unusual company name, it was interesting to learn that this company is aligned with International Harvester. They made chilled plows, evaporators, furnaces, along with the cane mills, for IH.

According to the Tennessee Encyclopedia, they manufactured for International Harvester until 1944 when the company built a new factory in Memphis. The Chattanooga Plow company was then bought out by the Harriman Manufacturing Co.

The Fall Show also had an extensive flea market and a consignment sale that took place the on the last day. Sawmilling and crosscutting were one of the crafts exhibited during the show as well.

With this three-day event, many camped onsite and there were events like a movie night and trick or treating to keep the campers of all ages busy. The grounds themselves have several interesting things that are there year-round. Visitors can enjoy a viewing a Lockheed F-80/T33 airplane that took its first flight Jan. 8, 1944. The plane did not see service in World War II but was used during the Korean War to train pilots to fly jets. Near the plane is a nice war memorial for those that gave their lives for “defense of freedom.”

Around the grounds is a .63 mile walking path. Besides a great chance to stretch the legs, along the way, visitors will see a couple interesting items. One is a fence gate with several padlocks dedicated to relationships. Some represent couples, other owners and their pets. There is also a wonderful play area that is dedicated to Baby Sarah. This young child was “an infant found and abandoned in Pyramid State Park near Pinckneyville, IL April 2, 2000.”

After an outpouring of donations from the community, the play area was set up. The infant was a premature newborn, and they never knew the story behind the birth.

The American Thresherman organization has more events than just the fall show.  The main event is the third weekend in August. In 2023, the 65th show will be Aug. 16-20, and will feature J.I. Case. For more information about the American Thresherman show, visit their website www.AmericanThresherman.com. The show was organized in 1959 at a meeting in Brownstone, Ill.