Tired Iron visitors take step back in time during Gentry event

3e5e3wqWestside Eagle Observer/RANDY MOLL
Lin Rhea, of Prattsville, a member of the American Bladesmith Association, heats up a piece of iron as he demonstrates the art to a crowd of visitors Saturday at the Tired Iron of the Ozarks fall show in Gentry. Members of the American Bladesmith Association and the Blacksmith Organization of Arkansas were at the annual show and talking with spectators on Saturday.
3e5e3wqWestside Eagle Observer/RANDY MOLL Lin Rhea, of Prattsville, a member of the American Bladesmith Association, heats up a piece of iron as he demonstrates the art to a crowd of visitors Saturday at the Tired Iron of the Ozarks fall show in Gentry. Members of the American Bladesmith Association and the Blacksmith Organization of Arkansas were at the annual show and talking with spectators on Saturday.

GENTRY -- Visitors to the Tired Iron of the Ozarks fall show on Saturday -- and there were a lot of them -- took a step back in time as they viewed the way things used to be done in the rural farming communities of the area a few generations ago.

In addition to the antique tractors and engines of the early to middle 20th century, visitors got to watch blacksmiths at work, demonstrating the art that supplied many of the tools and implements of 19th and 20th century America.

Featured on Saturday were a group of blacksmiths from the American Bladesmith Society hammering heated iron and steel into knives and blades for various purposes. The day also provided ample opportunities to purchase custom-made knives and blades at one of the many booths set up at the showgrounds.

At noon the tractors lined up for the daily Parade of Power, with the various tractors and drivers introduced by the club's announcer and driven by those gathered at the grandstands.

Again, the giant blade of the sawmill was turning, reducing logs to cut timbers to show spectators how local sawmills used to provide the lumber for building houses and barns.

Youngsters got the opportunity to make rope from colored strands of bailing twine and construct buildings with wooden blocks. They could sit atop the giant tricycle made with tractor tires and a tractor seat. And some were given the opportunity to learn to drive one of the club's tractors with two seats and a double set of controls.

Household machines and tools were on display in the club's home antique building so that visitors could see how many tasks were performed around the house. The collections included numerous sewing machines, kitchen tools and other household appliances.

All in all, it appears that visitors to the club's 29th annual fall show thoroughly enjoyed their trip back in time and the many lessons learned from America's local history.

Tired Iron of the Ozarks is a nonprofit organization with a 17-acre showground in rural Gentry. The club puts on two shows a year -- one in the spring and one in the fall -- and both are free to the public.

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