The Western Minnesota Steam Threshers Reunion (or WMSTR) has been held in the small community of Rollag, Minnesota, for many years now. It grew from the ideas of a few farmers deciding to fire up the old steam tractors to remember the “Good Old Days” into a major festival with one of a kind displays. There are many engines on permanent display on the show grounds, they run these engines during the show for everyone to enjoy.
I spent many hours over the three days we attended the show recording the sights and sounds of the show. I took a few pictures, but many of these things need to be seen in action. The videos were mostly taken with my iPhone, so they are not professional quality by any stretch of the imagination. I feel they do document some of the highlights of the show, and record some of our activities while there.
There are many things to do, and it is very family oriented. It would be a great place to stop even if you aren’t an antique engine nut like I am. Chas and the girls had a lot of fun and everyone has said they want to go back next year if it works out with our travels.
Here we have a picture of horses being hitched to a disc so they could demonstrate for the spectators. This is one of Lydia’s favorite spots, she loved watching the horses work and rubbing them down when they were resting.
This is the Case Eagle off of the factory where the steam and gas tractors at the show were built. This thing is massive, it was donated to the WMSTR group during the 150 Years of Case Expo in 1993.
The following videos contain some of the girls favorite activities during the show. They rode the steam driven carousel countless times, it was one of their go-to favorite attractions for sure. They also rode a small steam train, shelled corn with hand crank shellers, and found a hill to roll down below the big train. My favorite was the dance they came up with at the Pabst Brewery steam engine, it is priceless.
The next video is a tractor driving spot that allows kids of all ages to drive a John Deere tractor, the girls were all smiles when they got off the tractor. I even noticed an 80 year old woman from Germany putting around on the old tractor.
This is the first post in this series:
Check out our second post in this series – Big Engines – HERE
Check out our third post in this series – Steam Train Ride, Baker Fan, & Gas Engine Buildings – HERE
Check out our fourth post in this series – Steam Log Crane & Steam Sawmill Operation – HERE
Check out our fifth and final post in this series – Steam Tractor Plowing, Steam Shovels, & Spark Show – HERE
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