UPDATE: Since Hoosier Ag Today first published the story below about the 47th Annual Antique Power Show in Winamac, Indiana, the Northern Indiana Power from the Past organization has decided to cancel the event for 2024 due to recent flooding at the venue site.
Below is the statement issued by Denny J. Reed with Northern Indiana Power from the Past:
“Today directors and officers of the Northern Indiana Power from the Past met in the Winamac town park. Due to the heavy rainfall our area has experienced, 7 inches in some areas, and the river having not crested yet, the directors have voted to cancel our 47th annual summer show.
“This decision was not made lightly. The directors and officers visited the show grounds and held a lengthy debate. We feel that the grounds in their current and future state will not support us having a show.
“We look forward to seeing you next summer.”
ORIGINAL ARTICLE PUBLISHED TUESDAY, JULY 9:
It’s about keeping a piece of Indiana’s farm history and heritage alive. That’s why folks from across the Midwest will be traveling to the Pulaski County Fairgrounds in Winamac to share their passion for antique farm equipment at the 47th Annual Antique Power Show presented by Northern Indiana Power from the Past from July 18-21.
Tim Shively from Winamac says you’ll see him at the show with his antique steam engine, which he will use on-site to run a sawmill.
“It’s a 1915 Case, 65-horsepower steam engine,” he says. “We’ve had it for eight or nine years now, but I grew up on a steam engine that my uncle had when I was 12 or 13 years old, and that’s how I got the steam bug.”
Tim says that the equipment that you’ll see at the show isn’t meant to be locked away at a museum, which is why families are encouraged to bring their kids and grandkids to see a working village with many antique farm machines—including Tim’s steam engine—being used to show their importance to Indiana’s farm life during a time when more Hoosiers lived off of the land.
Many of the antique tractors and farm equipment that you’ll see at the Winamac Antique Power Show serve as a bridge to Indiana’s farming history and cultural heritage that connects his grandparents’ generation with future generations.
“I have a 1936 Allis-Chalmers WC that I restored when I was about 15 years old,” he says. “I bought it from the neighbor and my grandfather had one that was very similar. They tell me that when they put me on the tractor with him, all I did was scream and cry. Then about 10 years later, I owned one of my own!”
Tim adds that the Antique Power Show brings many farm families together, including his own.
“My kids will be here. My daughter and son-in-law help me run my steam engine. I also have two young grandsons that are just getting around to where they can be around this stuff, so they’re going to be here helping too.”
In addition to the antique equipment, the event will feature a horse pull on Saturday night, as well as a flea market, live entertainment, and of course, plenty of delicious food items.
The 47th Annual Antique Power Show in Winamac is July 18th through 21st at the Pulaski County Fairgrounds.
For more information, visit WinamacPowerShow.com.
Documentary: Tractors on the Tippecanoe
In addition to the event, a new film documentary, Tractors on the Tippecanoe, has been produced by Anne Rebeck Scott to celebrate the tradition of the 47-year-old show.
The 53-minute documentary features the beloved sights and sounds of the Winamac power show, including steam whistles, the “spark show,” tractor rows, antique working displays, the quilt show, food and craft vendors, and the flea markets.
The documentary features historical video and photograph footage, as well as a variety of interviews with show participants in a multitude of capacities through the years—and touchingly, many of the show founders, particularly the late Chris Smith who is credited with conceiving the idea for the annual event.
Filmmaker Anne Scott began working on the project in 2019. Her husband Dylan Scott created and recorded the original soundtrack music. The project was completed for under $1,000 – all from donations. The finished product is her first project of this magnitude.
Both Scotts are among the hundreds of local children who grew up with the show every summer, many of whom now volunteer as young adults to help work at the event to keep the tradition going.
Having grown up in a small, rural town, Scott explains that “for many of us kids, there were two ‘high holidays’ every July, the county fair and the power show. After that, we thought we may as well go back to school.”
Scott said she was careful to capture the generations of people who have participated in the show. She once served as a volunteer with the famous, kettle-cooked ham-and-bean dinner. And then there are the old-timers whose recollections carry them back to the stories of their grandparents’ late 19th Century days in early mechanized farming.
Scott holds a bachelor’s degree from Indiana University in photojournalism and a master’s in social work from IU South Bend. She lived and worked in Seattle for 10 years before returning to the area a few years ago. She now works as a behavioral health specialist for The Family Health Clinic team in Monon.
Tractors on the Tippecanoe will be debuted to the public at 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, July 17, at the Isis Theater in Winamac. No admission will be charged, but donations will be accepted.
The documentary will also be shown on a continuous loop at the 47th annual Power From the Past show July 18-21, at the Pulaski County Fairgrounds.
In the coming months, Scott plans to enter the film at two Indianapolis film festivals, and probably another she is familiar with in Seattle. She is also considering submitting it to a couple of European film festivals.
For more information, visit WinamacPowerShow.com.
