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Fact Box

What: West Central Region Cockshutt and Co-op Club

When: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. today

Where: 408 Main St., Homer. Homer can be reached from U.S. Highway 20 by turning south on Union Avenue. At 290th Street turn east (left) and continue to Stagecoach Road. Turn north (left) on Stagecoach Road and go approximately one-half mile. Union Avenue is the exit for Brushy Creek State Recreation Area and is marked with signs for the park.

Cost: $5

HOMER - Getting a modern diesel tractor running only takes a few seconds - turn the key, wait a few seconds for the glow plugs, then hit the start button - a few minutes later, you can be in the field.

Getting a steam engine up and running takes a bit longer - actually, a lot longer.

John Ricker, of Maxwell, who was helping to operate a 1900 vintage Port Huron steam engine at the ninth annual West Central Region Cockshutt and Co-op Club threshing bee, explained that there's a lot to it.

After filling the boiler with 280 gallons of water and getting a fire going in the firebox, it takes about three hours before the machine is ready to work.

"You got to do that slow," he said, explaining that such a large mass of metal has to be heated gradually to avoid cracking anything.

You still can't just drive it away.

Don Hodgson, who was also helping with the engine, explained that the engines require adjustment, lubrication and attention.

"There's a constant vigil," he said. "You have to keep it lubricated."

The engine operates at 100 psi with the safety valve set to release at 110 pounds. There is a plug inside the firebox that will melt if the water gets too low, releasing the pressure and preventing an explosion should the fireman let that happen.

"A lot of that's stupidity," Hodgson said.

Once the machine is steamed up and ready to go, the crew connects it with a long canvas belt to a threshing machine. The tracks it leaves in the grass from backing up and getting into position leave little doubt that this a heavy piece of equipment.

It's also hot.

John Griffith, of Cambridge, is the third member of the team operating the engine. Sweat was liberally pouring from his head.

"It's hot work," he said. "You gotta love it to do it."

The crowd attending the show seemed to be doing just that. Onlookers surrounded the engine.

One of those who seemed to be entranced by the machine was Jay Anderson, 9, of Madrid. He said this was the first time he had seen a steam engine operate. He thought it would pretty slow for field work though.

Don Lass, of Pilot Mound, was born in 1920. He remembers the machines working in the fields on his and the neighbors' farms.

"You would see them coming down the road," he said. "I would ride them when they got to our place."

As he got older, he would get to help with various tasks on the engines.

"I'd rake coals," he said. "You would get dirtier than the devil."

He also had another job.

"I got to blow the whistle for lunch," he said.

He explained that his father and neighboring farmers shared an engine owned by somebody else. This was a common practice for the farmers of the era. Before the engine arrived, his father would have to purchase coal to operate the machine.

Lass remembers the engines disappearing from farms in the mid-1930s as farmers went to more efficient and easier to maintain gasoline powered tractors.

In spite of their advantages, one thing the new tractors are not equipped with is a whistle. For a little while anyway, it can be heard, echoing out across the nearby fields calling to the past.

Don Lamb, owner of the property and a club member, explained that this is the first year a steam engine is at the show. More than 100 other pieces of equipment are on display as well. This year's featured tractors are Ford and the Cockshutt 50 model.

Contact Hans Madsen at (515) 573-2141 or hmadsen@messengernews.net