WAYNE TOWNSHIP – The Ashtabula County Antique Engine Club is providing the community with an opportunity to travel back in time.
The Big Show is a showcase for antique engines and tractors.
“It’s three days of exhibits, tractors, engines, a sawmill, a blacksmith, a one-room schoolhouse and an agricultural history museum,” Ashtabula County Antique Engine Club President Ted Seifert said. “It’s both entertaining as well as educational. People can remember the days gone past of tractors and engines. They can see how things were done in the 1940s and ‘50s.”
The 44th Annual Big Show will be held Friday-Sunday, July 3-5, at the Ashtabula County Antique Engine Club, 4026 US-322, Wayne Township.
“People are attracted to the event because we have entertainment,” Seifert said. “Lots of things go on that people don’t normally get to see. With the sawmill, they get to see logs processed into boards. The blacksmith takes iron and molds it into different things.”
The Big Show will feature Allis Chalmers- and Hercules-made engines.
The event is open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday.
The Big Show will be host to the show, displays, food, a flea market, crafts, museums, a tractor pull and a parade.
Entrance is a $5 donation per adult. Members, exhibitors, and children under 12 enter free.
During the Big Show, the various museums and restored buildings on the grounds of the Ashtabula County Antique Engine Club will be open for visitors to view all the unique and antique artifacts.
On the grounds of the club, there are two large agricultural museums, featuring antique farming equipment and more.
The club also has a one-room schoolhouse, an old-time country store and a freight depot that have all been restored to show the heritage of the region.
“We have a very large engine,” Seifert said. “It’s the same kind of engine you might find on a ship or train. It came from NASA and had served as a backup generator.”
Additionally, the Big Show will feature a large flea market, with all different sorts of vendors.
“We also have a flea market with a couple hundred different spaces,” Seifert said. “We also have a craft area where people can sell all the different things they make.”
The Flea Market is popular because of the number of people who attend the event.
“We draw a lot of potential customers,” Seifert said. “You never know what you might find.”
The Ashtabula County Antique Engine Club has a kitchen and will be selling hamburgers, hot dogs, cookies and pop. The Wayne Township Fire Department will also be selling food.
A parade starting at 1 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday will proceed through the Ashtabula Antique Engine Club grounds.
The show is an opportunity for people to learn the history of different machines.
“We have a lot of history with the tractors,” Seifert said. “Many of the companies that built them have gone out of business. They’re called orphan tractors. The people who bring them have a lot of knowledge they can pass on to others who are seeking that kind of information.”
For more information, check out Ashtabula County Antique Engine Club’s website at ashtabulaantiqueengineclub.com.
