07/08/2021
Stepping foot in the past
By Margaret Slayton Green Acres Jul 3, 2021
The annual Meriden Threshing Show will take place this month at Cottonwood Station which is a replica of a town from the early 1900s. The event will include a daily tractor parade.
The annual Meriden Threshing Show will take place this month at Cottonwood Station which is a replica of a town from the early 1900s.
The 44th and 45th annual threshing show in Kansas will be held for three days and is sponsored by the Meriden Antique Engine and Threshers Association. The association is a nonprofit organization that raises funds to care for the showgrounds and the town.
Kerril Bauerly, treasurer, said the event will be from Friday, July 16 through Sunday, July 18.
There will be a garden tractor pull all three days of the event. There will also be an antique tractor pull on Saturday night.
In addition, there will be a daily tractor parade. The feature tractors this year are Crawler tractors and industrial equipment. The event also will feature Minneapolis-Moline tractors.
She said there will be over a hundred gas-powered engines on display during the event. Participants from past years have used the engines to run sewing machines, washing machines and rope-making machines.
A children’s pedal tractor pull will be at 3 p.m. at the barn on Saturday. She said Cottonwood Station is a replica town that includes engine buildings, a functional flower mill, a barn with antique hay equipment, a general store, a log cabin and a print shop.
They have a fully-functional blacksmith shop with tools that will make items all weekend. They also grow sorghum and cook the plant in the shack in the fall.
She said they have a sawmill that they have used on all the wood for buildings that were built on the grounds.
The Bloomfield Church was built in 1897. It was originally located 7 miles north of Meriden but was brought to the replica town in 2003.
“They put the foundation back together and put the church on top of it,” Bauerly said. “We have restored the ceiling, bell tower and floors.”
The price of admission to the event is $6 for adults and kids 12 and under are free with paid admission. Veterans and exhibitors can enter free of charge.
The association will be selling concession food, ice cream and pies all day at the chuckwagon.
The flea market and craft area has open space for more local vendor products.
The Meriden Threshing Show will be held at 8275 K-4 Highway in Meriden, Kansas. Cottonwood Station has newly renovated restrooms with showers and air conditioning.
For more information or to view the event schedule, visit https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/UT2UCkRN48cOP5Jwt2s6Yidomain=meridenthreshers.org. Bauerly can be contacted by phone at 816-898-2328. To sell products at the flea market, contact Jess Noll by phone at 785-633-9706.
Maragret Slayton can be reached at [email protected].
