Shirley Anne’s Heart

Posted By drsao on April 25, 2009

When I left home this morning I was expecting to enjoy being with my Country Piecemakers Quilt Guild quilting friends at the Powhatan Power Antique Show.  What I wasn’t expecting was HOW MUCH FUN I would have.  AND…..this might be some kind of a record for me to have GREAT FUN when it is 91 degrees!  (I don’t do hot weather with grace and dignity – remember my FAVORITE weather falls into those categories in which cool things fall from the sky – rain and snow!!  LOL)

Catherine and I met for breakfast – at SHEETZ – my new favorite breakfast place.  (I had never been inside one before and REALLY, IT WENT ON MY LIST OF FAVORITE THINGS!) We got to order our breakfast sandwich on a screen – made to order – honestly I thought  that was fun.  Catherine  had called ahead for “RESERVATIONS” at a scenic roadside site (yes I took pictures!)  We enjoyed breakfast and Catherine kept me laughing constantly – she is so funny and witty and so quick with her remarks that I have to be ON MY TOES to be sure I don’t miss anything!  LOL

The Country Piecemakers Quilt Guild had a great TENT with quilts for sale (and  several of us were demonstrating quilt binding – Catherine was demo-ing quilt embellishment.)

There were tents with baby animals for sale, yard sale booths, antiques and crafts for sale…..and I got a COOL THINGIE to wear around my neck…..to keep me cool.  Sandie made it…..and it DID keep me cool!  🙂  The initial shock of “wearing an ice laden necklace” was breathtaking – but it sure was lovely on a hot day!

I also met up with a couple of baskets that I fell in love with and couldn’t leave behind.    But, come on – an authentic ANTIQUE EASTER BASKET for only $1.oo.  It could have been worse – I really wanted to buy some baby chicks, ducks and a bunny or two – but alas, I resisted!  I got an antique chair for $5 – complete with peeling paint and rungs wired together and painted over.  I just LOVE old things like this.  I REALLY DO!

I think that Catherine got the FIND of the day – a wonderful DESK.  Of course, again – I took pictures!   🙂

One of the most memorable moments of the day was seeing the two CUTEST ALPACAS that I have ever seen – they RODE in the car.  Really – they rode in the back seat of a car to come to the show.  ADORABLE!  They smiled at me!  Yes, they really did…..just look at the pictures!  Their wool is so soft – I almost bought some yarn!

And one more thing – I need to explain the tractors…..they were in a TRACTOR PULL.  I have never seen one before (and never even heard of one before – I guessed it was some kind of a race.)  In case this is new to you too – a tractor pull is a contest to see how much weight each tractor can pull; hence, the name TRACTOR PULL.  It was really entertaining – and to tell you the truth, it kind of made me want a tractor to ride around on.  Maybe my DSIL will let me ride his riding lawn mower…..I will have to think of something to do to make myself seem TRUSTWORTHY!  Any ideas?

Here is a little bit of info about TRACTOR PULLS….I just love to learn something new!

Truck and tractor pulling, also known as power pulling, is a competition using tractors and large trucks to pull a heavy drag along a ‘track’ and is very popular in rural areas. Usually the drag offers progressively greater resistance as it is pulled. It can be a great spectacle, although the vehicle produces a great deal of noise and smoke and tends to kick up dirt. Also, the tractors pulling don’t actually travel very far (a typical “full pull” is 300 feet). There are many different classes, from “factory” tractors, to custom built vehicles with multiple engines.

And….a bit of history……THIS IS INTERESTING STUFF!!!!!!  Did you KNOW how the term HORSE POWER GOT STARTED?

History

It is said that around the 1860s when farming machines were pulled by horse, farmers would boast about the strength of their horses. They would claim that their horse could tow large loads, such as a fully loaded hay cart or wagon. Farmers would challenge one another to contests to prove who had the strongest horse. A barn door was removed and laid flat on the ground, the horse was then hitched to it and the farmer urged the horse to drag the barn door along the ground. One by one, people jumped on the door until the horse could no longer drag it; the horse pulling the most people the greatest distance was judged the strongest. This event, called horse pulling, is still carried out today with specially bred horses trained to have high strength and low stamina. Instead of people, fixed weights on sleds are dragged as far as possible. While it is said that the term horsepower is derived from this event, in reality the term was coined by James Watt.

It wasn’t until 1929 that motorized vehicles were put to use in the first events at Bowling Green, Missouri and Vaughansville, Ohio. The sport was recognized then, but didn’t really become popular until the 50s and 60s, and it was realized that there were no uniform set of rules. The rules varied from state to state, county to county, and competitors never knew what standards to follow. This made the sport difficult for new entrants. In 1969, representatives from eight states congregated to create a uniform book of rules to give the sport the needed structure, and created the National Tractor Pullers Association. The NTPA’s early years were events that used standard farm vehicles, with the motto “Pull on Sunday, plow on Monday”. Pulling remained basically the same through the 70s, with only stock and modified tractors. Stock tractors were commercially available tractors produced by manufacturers, and modified tractors were the basic tractor chassis with another non tractor engine mounted on it.

My daddy led a horse around in the fields of Missouri when he was 5 years old. 

 He earned money to buy his school clothes.  I’ll bet he enjoyed the history of the tractor pull!

This Powhatan Power Antique Show is definitely going to become a tradition – I HAD SO MUCH FUN!

ENJOY THE PICTURES!

Categories: Antiques, Life Comments, My Favorite Things, Powhatan Antique Show 09
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