Mount Joy to Mount Pleasant

The return trip to the show grounds brought a little nostalgia to my heart. For a moment I was in Providence, Rhode Island, 40 years ago standing on a crowded bus homeward bound from work. Had it actually been that long since I had ridden on a city bus? Way back then I had never heard of an antique gas engine. I guess you could say, 'I've come a long way, baby.'

The following day I hopped on one of the many available tractor-drawn wagons to the museum buildings. Not only did I find good displays that pictured country living in the olden days, but to my surprise fabulous crafts with a touch of the Midwest filled the center of the big buildings. Ed had given me a hundred bucks to spend on whatever I wantedwas this Christmas or what? I bought two tiny train sets, as well as tractors, cars and trucks for my grand-sons, Chucky and Scotty, hoping they will have fun bringing them to life with bright and colorful paint. I watched the castings being made from molds right before my eyes. That was fun.

I was impressed by the complete John Deere collection along the front row of the engine area, which as an extra treat included a couple of small scale models of the same brand. Our little Suzie, how-ever, only had eyes for Bo, the eight week old JD 'watchdog.'

I was fascinated by the unusual rhythm and sound of the Workingman engine and was amused at the imaginative display of Granny's outdated unmentionables hanging on a clothesline right next to the old Maytag washer. Ed gazed longingly at the 7 HP New Way in original condition hit-and-missing in the next row. There were many beautifully restored engines, all shiny and proud, and some really nice preserved units on exhibit throughout 'Engine-land.'

Ed and I actually spent a lot of time at our display talking with many people and answering any questions we could for them. One evening as things quieted down we covered our equipment, put our dogs in their wooden wagon and trekked through the grounds passing by the stately old steam engines tiredly hissing and sighing from their activity that day. While the dogs were content and feeling important in their wagon, with more shopping in mind I gently coaxed Ed back to the crafts. Somehow or other, we were sidetracked by the big stationary gas engines located in one end of the museum. I w-a-i-t-e-d as 'shop talk' between Ed and the men manning the equipment floated fuzzily over my head. I consoled myself by crunching caramel com as I sat slumped on a nearby bench until closing time.

Music was another important feature of the reunion. Every evening a capacity crowd filled the big grandstand to be entertained by famous country music performers. We were impressed by the performance of Kathy Mattea. Her music was soft and her lyrics were full of sentiment, a nice way to end a day.