-Messenger photo by Lori Berglund April Patten was on top of the rack to throw bundles of oats into the threshing machine at the Homer Threshing Bee on Saturday.

HOMER — Hot lead, warm sun and the sweet smell of freshly threshed grain filled the air at the annual Homer Threshing Bee and Collector’s Show in this historic little community Saturday.

Those with a little gray in their hair recalled how they, and their parents and grandparents, once used sweat and muscle as their most important tools.

The little ones, some in strollers, some tugging at grown-up hands, soaked up the history as they heard the stories of the rich history of American farming.

Ty Murray, proprietor of Boone Forks Forge, was one of those helping history to come to life. Murray makes his living plying the ancient trade of blacksmithing.

“I’ve been doing this for about 30 years,” Murray said. “My dad started me out when I was about 9 years old and taught me all this.”

-Messenger photo by Lori Berglund Natalie Murray admires the steel-forged butterflies, one of many decor items on display from Boone Forks Forge at the Home Threshing Bee on Saturday.

Murray crafts just about anything out of hot steel. Television shows such as Forged in Fire have given a boost to the trade. While he noted that most TV shows focus on knives, he can create more than that. His decor items are popular. Horseshoe wedding knots and garden art are also popular items.

Toddler Teddy Battazzi was enthralled watching Murray work.

“He loves watching the forge,” said his dad, Anthony Battazzi, of Stratford.

On the other side of the grounds, the air was filled with the pop of small engines. Keith Stuhrenberg, of Barnum, brought an entire trailer full of vintage machines. Many of the engines were dated between 1918 and 1928 and featured such notable brands as McCormick Deering and Rock Island.

“I enjoy the challenge of keeping them running,” Stuhrenberg said.

-Messenger photo by Lori Berglund Blacksmith Ty Murray applies beeswax to provide a protective finish to a piece of hand-forged steel at the Homer Threshing Bee on Saturday.

Small engines such as these were once a game changer on the farm, making it so much easier to grind feed, mill grain, pump water, or even cut wood, he noted.

Above the pop of the machines, the black powder splitting wood, and the old tractors firing up, there was also a little music on the grounds.

Iowa farm broadcaster Von Ketelsen roamed the grounds singing and strumming his guitar. While a journalist by occupation, Ketelsen said he comes by his music interest naturally, as his father was a dance band leader in eastern Iowa. The Johnny Ketelsen Band once had toes tapping and couples swaying.

Of course, there’s got to be good food on the grounds.

Members of the Lehigh Lions Club were taking care of that Saturday morning as they served up a full breakfast of pancakes, eggs and sausage.

-Messenger photo by Lori Berglund Keith Stuhrenberg, of Barnum, brought a large selection of small engines for display at the Homer Threshing Bee on Saturday. With their ever-present popping and grinding, the engines showed how farmers once used small engines to pump water, grind feed, cut wood, or a myriad of other tasks around the farm.

And, as always, Don Lamb’s vintage threshing machine, dating from the late 1930s to early 1940s, was the star of the show. On top of the bundle rack feeding the machine Saturday morning was April Patten, of Boone. She enjoys working with family member, Dan Hodgson, also of Boone, to keep the thresher moving.

Hodgson manned a 1951 Minneapolis Moline tractor to power the thresher as Patten forked bundles of oats into the machine to be separated.

It’s a powerful display, one that used to bring neighborhoods together as farmers helped neighbors glean the grain.

Nearly a century hence, threshing is still bringing friends and neighbors together, courtesy of Lamb and all the organizers at the Homer Threshing Bee.

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

Law enforcement will soon be returning to the streets of Dayton after the Webster County Board of Supervisors ...

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

Copyright © Messenger News | https://www.messengernews.net | 713 Central Ave., Fort Dodge, IA 50501 | 515-573-2141