The show drew a substantial crowd of people of all ages—some who may have remembered working with equipment and tools similar to those displayed, others who were simply intrigued by the ingenuity of devices whose workings you could grasp by watching them in action and recalling what you learned in grade school about simple machines. Although the show was all about the equipment of yesteryear, an interesting comparison with farm equipment today was struck when someone parked a shiny new John Deere tractor, with enclosed air-conditioned cab, next to a row of tractors from the 1950s.

The power for much of the equipment on display derived from internal combustion engines, but that wasn’t exclusively the case. One of the most interesting machines exhibited was a water-powered “crusher” for grinding grain, which was said to predate the waterwheel by two centuries. On exhibit, too, were machines that relied on animal power and human power. There were displays of hand tools used for farm work and for domestic chores. The Farm and Home Museum, a permanent installation at the show grounds, contained an impressive collection of tools that depended on human power—in this case, woman power—to make them work: egg beaters, food grinders, treadle sewing machines, laundry wringers, coffee mills, and butter churns.

On a perfect autumn day, “Old Time Days” provided much to see and much to hold a visitor’s interest. It was well worth the modest $3 that was the price of admission.