Blacksmith Bob Willman gave demonstrations at the Power of Yesteryear weekend event.
Photos by Sydney Leyerle | Sentinel-Tribune
Through demonstrations and displays, the Power of Yesteryear Club hopes to promote education about antique farming and agriculture.
On Saturday and Sunday, the Power of Yesteryear hosted its annual spring show on the grounds of the Wood County Museum. Antique tractors and farming equipment were on display across the grounds and the museum opened their oil well and blacksmithing demonstrations for the event.
A variety of antique tractors were on display during the show and some of the owners were around to answer any questions.
George Shaull, who had a tractor on display, said a lot of people who come to the show don’t know much about the equipment. They will often ask questions, and he said he enjoys providing answers and being able to share a little bit of history.
“It makes it kind of worthwhile,” Shaull said. “You meet a lot of nice people.”
The show also offers visitors the opportunity to learn about other antique crafts and equipment through demonstrations.
The blacksmith demonstration was led by Bob Willman, who is a former president of the Power of Yesteryear and has been a blacksmith for about 40 years.
Throughout the show, Willman demonstrated the blacksmith craft by working on a few personal projects for some friends. While working, Willman said he gets the opportunity to meet people and share something he enjoys.
Willman said he hopes seeing a live demonstration will teach people more about the craft and encourage them to learn.
“I just hope they realize that the blacksmithing craft is still alive,” Willman said. “Our blacksmith group has about 50, 60 members. And we have a couple of professional smiths who make a living at it. There aren’t many of those anymore, but there are a couple. But it’s a lot of fun and it’s a fascinating craft, to get the iron to do what you want it to do.”
The club also shelled corn during a demonstration and Willman said all the shelled corn is sold after the show is over.
The Power of Yesteryear started in 1982 as a small club located on a local farm. It has grown since then and become an important part of many of the member’s lives.
Emily Snyder, the club’s membership chair, said she has been around antique tractors for much of her life and has been coming to the spring show for years.
“I’ve been doing this with my family for decades,” Snyder said. “My parents were collectors of antique equipment as well, so I’ve been coming to the show since I was 12 or 13 years old.”
The main goal of the show is to educate, and Snyder said she hopes people learn about the roots of agriculture in Wood County.
“It wasn’t always just big farmers in Wood County,” Snyder said. “A lot of them are just 40 acres, 80 acres a piece and they would farm with this size of equipment and it would take them a long time to do those 80 acres, not like today at all. Hopefully people take away that when they come to visit, that it was small farmers with smaller equipment and a lot of hard work.”
The Power of Yesteryear will host its fall show on Sept. 14-15 at the National Construction Equipment Museum in Bowling Green. Admission is free and special events will include a tractor ride, raffle and a chicken barbeque.
