History exhibited at Steam & Gas Show
The 40th annual Essex County Steam & Gas Engine Show returned to the museum of a similar name last weekend and gave the public a look back at farming eras gone by.
The show was held at the Essex County Steam & Gas Engine Museum, located on the grounds of Co-An Park in McGregor, and featured tractors, antique farm equipment, tractor pulls, threshing demonstrations, vendors, children’s activities, live entertainment and more. It was held Aug. 14-16 with a tractor parade last Saturday morning going from St. Clement Church on Walker Road to Concession 11 and going eastbound to the park.
“It’s not 40 years for the museum but it’s 40 years for the show,” explained museum president Gary Struhar.
Struhar thanked everyone who came out to last weekend’s show, including the dignitaries which included council members from both Amherstburg and Essex and Essex MP Chris Lewis.
Volunteers were also thanked by Struhar. Struhar acknowledged the number of volunteers is declining but is grateful to all of those that turned out over the three days.
“I could not do this by myself,” he said. “It takes everyone to get this going.”
There was a lot of history on display, Struhar added, and that museum members and others within the Essex County community offer up their antique equipment for the weekend to be part of the show.
“There is a lot to see here,” he said. “There’s a lot of stuff people have never seen before.”
Live entertainment included Crystal Gage on Saturday and Tina Schroeder on Sunday.
“There are so many hidden gems across the county. This is one of the greatest ones,” said Lewis.
Lewis also paid tribute to the volunteers and show organizers for putting the event on. He highlighted the history of agriculture and those who built up farming, lands, and businesses. It was an honour to be part of the parade and be in the show, Lewis added.
Essex Mayor Sherry Bondy encouraged people to support the museum and the vendors that attended.
“This is one of my favourite events of the year,” said Bondy.
Bondy noted there is an educational component to the show and the museum, as it teaches about agricultural eras of the past.
“The public education they do on agricultural history is second to none,” said Bondy.
Bondy, who noted she was going back-and-forth between the show and a baseball tournament next door promoting pop can recycling, said she wants the show to keep going well into the future.
“I hope it continues for another 100 years to come,” said Bondy.
Amherstburg Mayor Michael Prue touched on the importance of agriculture and the work that farmers do. He said it is a great show by a great museum and thanked the volunteers for keeping it going, the latter spending “countless hours” in organizing the show and maintaining the museum.
“We’re all here to cheer you on,” he said. “I’m delighted to be here.”
Amherstburg Councillor Molly Allaire added the town has the motto of “Preserving the Past and Forging the Future,” adding “that’s what the Steam and Gas Museum does every day.”
This was also the first year the recently unveiled barn quilt was put up on one of the buildings at the site. In a statement from co-creator Bernie Meloche that was shared with local reporters, Meloche said he had the honour to work alongside Ken Voakes and Kathy Badlan on the barn quilt, which is entitled “The Essex Steam Engine Star.”
“We started this little adventure earlier this year,” wrote Meloche. “Being a part of the Town of Essex heritage committee, the idea of barn quilts came across my mind as another heritage committee member was trying to come up with some sort of ‘program’ to help people make their own barn quilts.”
“That program was in its early stages of planning and research but I had decided to bring it up at one of our museum meetings to see what our members had to say about barn quilts,” Meloche added.
After discussions about barn quilts, the decision was made to leave it up to the museum to make the decision and Meloche, Badlan and Voakes came up with the designs.
“I’m sure Kathy and Ken have their own reasons for being so involved with the barn quilt but, for me, it was close to home,” said Meloche. “My grandfather, Omer Meloche, was a big part in both Co-An Park and the Essex County Steam & Gas Engine Museum. Omer Meloche is the reason Co-An Park exists and, in his spare time if he had any, he was also a member of the Steam and Gas Engine Club. When the museum was looking at moving from their old location, that’s when Omer Meloche mentioned that he had the perfect spot. The land to the east of Co-An, which was set for future park growth, would now be the future home of the museum.”
Meloche added: “To be able to leave a mark and to add to his legacy is why I became so involved with the barn quilt. Unfortunately, he passed away when I was young and he couldn’t make it to the first show at the museum’s new home. He may not be here right now, but he left a lasting impression in the community of McGregor. He also left a strong sense of commitment to one’s community in our hearts.”
It was a privilege and honour to “create a symbol or something he helped build,” he added.
History exhibited at Steam & Gas Show
By Ron Giofu
Participants in Saturday morning’s tractor parade head down Walker Road.
Antique tractors were on display as part of last weekend’s Essex County Steam & Gas Engine Show (above) while threshing demonstrations were also part of the weekend’s events (below).
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