[AT] PA Farm Show ...Was 1955 farm equipment films

Vaughn Miller vmiller at messiah.edu
Wed Feb 16 04:52:39 PST 2005


Horse pulling is still done in PA and in the Northeast.  In fact, horse
pulling is still an event at the PA farm show.  The last pull I recall
seeing a few years ago used a sled that operated like you describe.  The
local tractor show has horse pulling on one of the nights.

Vaughn Miller
PA

>>> drupert at premier1.net 2/16/05 1:17:20 AM >>>
Steve,

Thanks for passing along the show web site.  It's good to hear the show is
still going on and, from the site, it sounds like it is quite successful.

Incidentally one of the memories I have from the show I attended was the
team-pulling contest ... they had no tractor pulling back then that I
recall.  This was the first and only team pulling I've seen.  Anyway there
was what looked like an iron A frame welded to the top of the sled with a
vertical pulley attached to the top of the A.  A cable went over the
pulley
and down to the top of the sled where iron weights (they looked like giant
barbells as I recall) were hung on the cable.  The other end of the cable
was hooked to the double tree.  In order to pull the sled the horses had
to
first lift the weights maybe a foot off the top of the sled where they
then
would be stopped by the top of the A frame.  My fifty-year memory of this
event may be failing me here but I seem to recall the top teams being able
to lift around 1800 pounds and then dragging the sled for several feet. 
The
horses looked like they had a million muscles bulging out and the angle
between their front legs and the ground when they were pulling hard seemed
like it was 45 degrees.  I know I wondered how the veins stayed in the
horses and how the stitching and rivets stayed in the harness.  I would
like
to see one of these pulls again ... that is, if it is still done anywhere.

Dudley
Snohomish, Washington

-----Original Message-----
From: at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com 
[mailto:at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com]On Behalf Of Steve Barr
Sent: Tuesday, February 15, 2005 11:16 AM
To: Antique tractor email discussion group
Subject: [AT] PA Farm Show ...Was 1955 farm equipment films

Dudley

You just missed it...
http://www.agriculture.state.pa.us/farmshow/site/ 

My Folks stopped in on their way back from a month on the east coast
(following Christmas).  My Dad went to the show as a kid many times...He
grew up in Indiana County.  They just left for a month in the SouthEast.
He sure loves this retirement thing...Building a Shed for one of my
sister's in Georgia and attending a few shows in Florida before heading
back...Hopefully he will get some work done on his Super H this
spring...the one that had the tree fall on it after being struck by
lightning.

Steve

--- Dudley Rupert <drupert at premier1.net> wrote:

I am curious if any of you Pa folks on the list know if the annual
Harrisburg Farm Show is still being held and, if not, do you know when the
last one was held.  I attended the Winter 1955 show which, as I recall,
was in February.  Big deal for a kid (got to get out of school) -

Dudley
Snohomish, Washington


=====
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Steve Barr                N9NDE            Downers Grove, IL
          http://www.oldengine.org/members/sbarr 
                      stevebarr at ameritech.net
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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