Steam Engine A Big Draw at Old Timer's Day At Curtis Farm

Anyone traveling along the many roads in the Sano area of Adair County Saturday morning couldn't help but notice a cloud of black some coming from the vicinity of Richie and Wanda Curtis' farm on Grassy Springs Road.
However, there wasn't a house or field or fire, and there was nothing to worry about it. The smoke was coming from Richie Curtis' steam engine, which he had fired up to thresh wheat during the eighth annual Old Timer's Day at the farm.
The demonstration of how wheat was threshed and the grain harvested just like it was in the early part of the last century was the featured attraction of Old Timer's Day, but there was also much more.
What was started eight years ago by the Curtis family mainly as a way for Richie Curtis to satisfy the requests of friends and neighbors to see his steam engine in action has evolved into an event that attracts hundreds of spectators.
In addition to the wheat threshing, there was also a demonstration of how the wheat straw was baled using an old wire-type baler. There were a large number of antique tractors on display, along with antique gas engines.
Wanda Curtis' brother, Leonard Smith of Windsor, had a trailer full of very unusual toy tractors - all made out of old Singer sewing machines. Another man, Kenny Luttrell, brought along one of the earliest riding lawn mowers - a 1954 Roof for people to examine. Kids (and adults) could also take wagon rides and buggy rides.
And, this year, the event also served as a fund raiser for a very good cause, as a Relay For Life team prepared and sold the food served at the event to benefit the American Cancer Society.
All in all though, Old Timer's Day, was a day devoted to the past that allowed people to gather, visit, and reminisce about how things were many years ago.
Photo:RICHIE CURTIS, at the wheel, maneuvered his steam engine into position to hook up to the thresher so wheat could be threshed at the Old Timer's Day at the Curtis Farm Saturday. Helping Curtis was Charles Lewis. (Photo by Paul B. Hayes)