'It's a life for us,' history enthusiasts say

MADRID — Think your iPad, Wi-Fi or Twitter account is cool?

These guys don't.

Hundreds gathered at a farm here to celebrate the 20th annual Old Fashioned Harvest Days Exhibition, where anything built after 1960 need not apply.

"It's a life for us," said Michael R. Gillette, who fiddled with a pesky 2-horsepower flywheel engine made in 1928 that wouldn't seem to stay running.

The event, one of dozens around the state, featured old-fashioned everything: lines of cars, a giant steam engine, boxes filled with yellowed instruction manuals, horse-and-buggy rides and the main event, a tractor pull.

"You'll see some old-timers out here," said Robert S. Austin, president of the St. Lawrence Power & Equipment Museum, which puts on the event.

The tools aren't just for show, Mr. Austin said. He points to a few machines near a cornfield that had been in action earlier. One of them is a newer model, he said, capable of bundling corn.

"It could be one of the modern ones," he said. "Maybe from the 1930s. Very uptown."

Despite the old machinery, much of what the museum is doing is new, Mr. Austin said.

He stood in the recently constructed cobbler shop, sheltered from the day's whipping wind, and explained steps the museum is taking. An old schoolhouse in Philadelphia will be transported here, to be complemented by a village green and surrounded by shops that match the old-time style. A 4,000-square-foot horse-and-buggy exhibit is in the works. The museum also is looking into constructing a house made out of logs.

The event itself also has grown. It found its permanent home here in Madrid in 2008, expanding to a 115-acre lot. The event started on five acres.

"We've grown so fast," said Gary F. Hargrade, a museum engineer. "It's hard to keep up with."

Mr. Hargrade stood next to a steam engine, a giant contraption that resembles — and sounds like — a locomotive engine. In his hand, he held a yellow rope connected to a series of pipes, knobs and levers. With one tug, a loud "toot" and a cloud of steam burst out of the machine.

"The kids go crazy for it," he said.

The 40-horsepower engine was built in 1922 and was used by the St. Lawrence County Highway Department to crush rocks. The museum purchased it in the early 1980s for $1.

The steam engine was the biggest and most prominent piece of equipment at the event, but those with their own antiques also showed up in droves to put them to work.

Visitors were greeted with the constant humming, whirring and popping of machines that were on display.

Don McIntosh sat on an riding lawn mower next to a few of his 2-horsepower engines. One used to run a stone elevator, and the other ran a Maytag washing machine.

"It's a great hobby," Mr. McIntosh said. "And it's good this year. They've got a pretty nice place here now."