Antique engine and tractor show to open
Antique tractors were lined up for showing over the weekend at the Tired Iron of the Ozarks show grounds.
Things were cranking up today at the Tired Iron of the Ozarks show grounds south of Gentry in preparation for the three-day show which begins tomorrow.
Old tractors were being lined up for showing and the parade of power. The sawmill was being fired up and readied for operation. Buildings to house tractors and equipment were being erected. And, the blacksmith shop was being set up for the smithies to do their work for weekend visitors.
The 17th Annual Spring Crank-up and Swap Meet will be open all day Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
The Blacksmith Organization of Arkansas will be putting on demonstrations Saturday of the metal-working art in the blacksmith shop – outfitted just as small-town blacksmith shops across the country were a century or more ago. Other demonstrations, too, are planned for the weekend, with a fully operational sawmill, farm tractors and machinery, old engines and more.
This year’s show will feature a swap meet, and vendors now can set up in a building outfitted for the special event.
Admission is free, and ample parking is available.
The show grounds are located between Gentry and Siloam Springs on Taylor Orchard Road. Signs mark the way.
More information on the club and the show are available at www.tiredironoftheozarks.org. A map is available at: http://www.mapquest.com/maps?city=Gentry&state=AR&address=13344+Taylor+Orchard+Road.
Frank Holzkamper parks a 1940 John Deere, Model L, in the lineup for showing this weekend.
Frank Holzkamper restored the old John Deere tractor, which had been setting in a barn for 40 years, for the late Richard Harberson. Harberson wanted the old tractor shown, Holzkamper said. Plans are in place for the tractor to be placed in a Highfill Museum whenever that becomes a reality.