KIESTER &045; Amid a trailer holding more than 15 puttering, popping, smoking kick-start engines, John Mell of Mankato explained why he resurrects their rusted bodies from junkyards and turns them into working engines that do nothing more than spin and jerk back and forth.

With a Ford baseball cap, a cigarette and a smile, Mell, 55, said part of the reason he likes the engine is a lifelong affinity for mechanics, but also because he wants to keep some of the past alive.

The green Maytag gas engine was once attached to a dishwasher; now it just moves back and forth impatiently. Another once pumped water. Another helped grind meat. Saturday, they just shook in place at the Farming of Yesteryear festival held south of Kiester, a demonstration of different objects from days gone by. Mell said he saw quite few looks of surprise from younger generations.

&uot;You got to know where you’ve been to know where you’re going,&uot; he said. He said a lot of people have no idea what life was like in the past. Most don’t know that two rollers once accompanied the green Maytag, or that it had to be kept on the porch because of the exhaust. But, &uot;It was quite an improvement over the scrubboard,&uot; he said.

His cousin, Wayne Tischer, 62, remembers. &uot;My dad had to start it, then he’d go to the field and it’d quit,&uot; he said. Tischer had to ride his bike out to tell his dad to start it again for his mother.

&uot;It’s a lot easier now &045; just put the clothes in turn the dial and walk away.&uot;

Mell’s wife said she thinks the interest in old things is waning. &uot;In years to come, shows like this will die out,&uot; she said. She thinks that younger people are more interested in new things.

Bill Jacobson of Freeborn had a corn grinder and kick-start engine demonstration set up next Mell’s. His 15-year-old works on the engines. He said he thought the interest had something to do with growing up around it. And in that way, he sees fewer people being interested as technology changes.

His son, Travis, isn’t sure why he’s interested, but he said he plans on continuing.

(Contact Tim Sturrock at tim.sturrock@albertleatribune.com or 379-3438.)