GREENVILLE – Seeing a tractor driving down the road or farm equipment in the field is a familiar sight for many people living in Darke County, but usually this equipment is not the same that my grandparent’s generation would have used to harvest food. However, this past weekend many individuals saw just that at the Great Darke County fair during the Greenville Farm Power of the Past.
This year was the 17th annual reunion and it had a focus on The John Deere Company including John Deere tractors, equipment, lawn and garden tractors, and gas engines. Each year there is a specific focus as well as many attractions that center on the history of agriculture in a way that connects traditional farming to the modern day world.
The idea of preserving history as well as using history to inform others has always been at the center of the festival. One of the founding members, Barbara Young, said that she got started with the organization with her husband, Bill Young, when a group of individuals “discussed having something at the fairgrounds that would help preserve the agriculture history of Darke County.”
The Farm Power of the Past also had a variety of different attractions that relate to agriculture and machinery. This including a flea market area, working equipment (including sawmills, corn shredders, and corn grinders), horse pulls, tractor pulls, a car show, as well as other displays and events.
Young said the Farm Power of the Past is not just a “tour through history” that gives people of all ages a hands-on experience, but also an opportunity “to preserve the history and try to either educate or encourage other young people to get involved with us because what they grow up with will soon be an antique.”
