For 25 years the volunteers of a nonprofit organization, Gopher-Hawkeye Power Association, have been putting on an annual show each September to show the public how farming was done in the past.

The Farming of Yesteryear show was Saturday and Sunday, with the goal once again to “preserve the past for generations of the future.” This year’s show drew the largest group ever of visitors and the parking area was filled to capacity.

Organization co-chairmen Warren Oldfather and Jim Meyer and others have worked to add exhibits and items of interest each year and the show continues to grow in displays, as well as gate admissions. Both men have been longtime members of the organization and active in the meeting room, throughout the year, and the show’s weekend.

Oldfather and the team of Don Jensen and Gary Skartland showed the crowd how threshing was done, the old-fashioned way, by using a steam-powered machine and a lot of hard work by both horses and men.

“Years ago, the oat fields were cut by hand, put into bundles and then into shocks for drying,” said Oldfather. “After drying about 10 days the bundle teams would take the shocks to the threshing team to separate the grain from the straw — like what the combines now do for the farmer.”

The oats were then stored in graineries to feed the animals or sold at market. The straw was used for animal bedding, during the winter months. Oldfather grew up on a farm a couple of miles southwest of Kiester and as a lad helped his father with threshing. He recalls their working-horse team of Ginger and Tops being an important aspect of the farm work.

Their threshing exhibition began on Friday night, when they showed the fifth-graders from United South Central School District how farm work was done years ago. They continued to do threshing throughout the weekend for a large crowd that participated in the other attractions of the show, such as a blacksmith shop, working steam engine, rope making, antique tractor display, flea market, children’s pedal tractor pull, free vegetable soup supper, butter making, and a multitude of other points of interest.

“We’ve had a really good crowd this weekend,” said Oldfather, “The weather was great and people seem to be enjoying themselves.

“It won’t be long though,” he added, “until there won’t be anyone who knows how to do these things and it would be great to get more volunteers and younger people involved in all aspects of our nonprofit group.”

His comments were seconded by longtime member and past group president, Gordon Benson.

“Our show draws a lot of people to see the many different things we have available. We always try to get new exhibits every year and every time you get new members you get new energy. We’d like to keep training in new blood to show them how it’s done and to maintain the events of the show – and to continue the work we have done,” Benson said.

Anyone wishing to be a part of this volunteer organization should contact Oldfather at (507) 294-3731 or Meyer at (507) 294-3109.