Tired Iron driving lesson

GENTRY — Rain dampened the 26th annual spring show of the Tired Iron of the Ozarks last weekend — a frequent occurrence at the spring shows each April — but the wet weather did not keep club members from showing off their antique tractors and engines and giving visitors a taste of how things were done years ago.

Though numbers may have been down, old tractors were paraded past visitors, the put-put of old hit-and-miss engines could still be heard, saws buzzed and hammers pounded on the red-hot iron to turn the shapeless metal into works of art and useful tools.

The show, held at the club’s showgrounds on the southwest edge of Gentry last weekend, April 20-22, was the 26th such annual spring show for the club. And, though the rains fell on Saturday afternoon and Sunday, it was a busy weekend with lots of people coming and going to see the old engines and machines and visit with club members and other antique tractor and engine enthusiasts.

In addition to the regular demonstrations on Friday and Sunday, the Blacksmith Organization of Arkansas was there, showing the metal-working art, on Saturday in the blacksmith shop — outfitted much the same as small-town blacksmiths were a century ago.

And, in the home furnishings building, sewing machines and other antique household goods and machines were on display, with club members and their wives standing by to explain what the old tools and machines were and how they were used years ago.

The club is dedicated to the preservation and showing of antique tractors and engines and has two shows each year to give visitors an opportunity to see these old machines and learn more about life in rural America in previous generations. The shows are always free and open to the public.

More information on the club, its meetings and its two shows each year is available at www.tiredironoftheozarks.org. The fall show is set for Sept. 7-9.

Westside Eagle Observer/RANDY MOLL Hailey Hodson, 10, of Bentonville, got a lesson from Glenn Smith of Gentry in tractor driving on one of his two-seater, double-controls tractors during the parade of power at noon on Friday at the spring show of the Tired Iron of the Ozarks in Gentry.

Westside Eagle Observer/RANDY MOLL Mike Fleming, a Vietnam War veteran, cuts off the end and sizes a leather belt he made for a customer. Fleming travels to tractor shows from April through October of each year, making and selling custom-made, handtooled leather belts, cases and...

Westside Eagle Observer/RANDY MOLL Don Christensen of Gentry drives an electric tractor during the parade of power at noon on Friday at the spring show of the Tired Iron of the Ozarks in Gentry. He converted the 1949 Farmall Cub to an electric-powered tractor in 2015 and has entered it...

Westside Eagle Observer/RANDY MOLL Harold Bowen of Wesley operates a sawmill, cutting logs down to timbers, at the Tired Iron of the Ozarks show in Gentry on Friday.

Westside Eagle Observer/RANDY MOLL Don Christensen of Gentry drives an electric car during the parade of power at noon Friday at the spring show of the Tired Iron of the Ozarks in Gentry.

Westside Eagle Observer/RANDY MOLL Westside Eagle Observer/RANDY MOLL Steve Low of rural Gentry works in the blacksmith’s shop at the Tired Iron of the Ozarks spring show on Friday in Gentry.