51st Sturgis Threshing Bee 8-17-2019

Sturgis, SD.  Over 113 toys were built by kids and Rapid City Woodworkers Association (RCWA) members at today's Threshing Bee in Sturgis.  Although the weather man predicted a warm day for the event, it was a very pleasant mid 60's day with a rain storm in the middle of the day to douse the dust and make for a super parade and Bee!

The RCWA toymakers set up camp in the Memorial Building at the Sturgis Threshing Bee on August 17, 2019 at 8:30 am.  The temperature was beautiful in the low 60's at the start of the day.  We enjoyed ice tea and cookies later in the day. 

Attending (16):  Lauree and Darwin, Ed, Gloria, Ken and Carol, Grant, Al, Richard, Lon, Ralph, Harley, Jerry H, Rick, and Bob and Kathie.

We brought tractors and vans for kids to color and then build into racing vehicles by adding wheels.   We brought 81 tractors cut from redwood and cedar, pre-drilled for wheels.  Additionally we brought a box of vans (66).  Kids were given a choice of tractors or vans.  As it turns out, we gave away 81 tractors, and 32 vans, for a total of 113 toys.  We were aided in our efforts to draw children into our area by a rainstorm that lasted about 45 minutes about lunchtime.  Parents with kids came in and were not super anxious to leave, which gave their kids more time to build toys.

Many members toured the buildings and displays at the Bee and browsed through the Swap Meet areas as well.  The rope maker, the shingle maker, and the blacksmith were doing demonstrations.  The threshing machine wasn't in operation, as there didn't seem to be any shocks available.  The steam powered sawmill had a blade malfunction early in the day Friday, so wasn't back up yet on Saturday afternoon.  But there were lots of steam tractors driving around all day.  The big permanent steam engine was running all day with a coal fired steam source.

 Lunch spots included the Men's Diner with hot dogs, hamburgers and roast beef sandwiches, the popcorn vendor, and the nachos and slushies trailer.

Darwin and Ed setup to demonstrate scroll-sawing as well as to cut an additional 30 racing tractors as the day went on.  They also cut several tractor cutout shapes to give to Bee-goers.

Wheel experts Jerry, Harley, Ralph, Ken, and Lon put the final touches on the race tractors.

This was our first event where Racing Tractors took over the race track.  Kids really enjoyed the race track, and curiously enough, many decided that tractors should race backwards!

We were aided in our efforts to draw children into our area by a rainstorm that lasted about 45 minutes about lunchtime.  Parents with kids came in and because of the rain, they were not super anxious to leave, so they allowed their kids lots of time to build toys.

 The parade of tractors, old trucks, fire engines, tractor trains, bulldozers, and small engine vehicles, started right on time at 1 pm, and included steam powered as well as diesel and gas powered vehicles.  People of all ages drove the vehicles and often brought children and grandchildren as passengers.

The weather was amazing after the mid-day rainstorm subsided and people kept coming by the booth.  We finally ran out of tractors (and kids) a little before 4 pm, so we loaded up and headed out.

Here's some pictures from the parade taken by my niece Lydia:

For more information about the Woodworkers, click here:   RCWA