Power of the Past draws 10,000
Aug. 23—GREENSBURG — Another Power of the Past festival is on the books, and according to event coordinators 2022 was "one of our best."
The Power of the Past has become a tradition and must-see for many in Decatur County and POP Board of Directors member Tom Cherry said this year was a record-breaker.
"The weather was on our side this year, and Friday and Saturday attendance was the best we've had in 33 years," Cherry said.
According to Cherry, more than 10,000 people visited this year's event and more then 500 bidders were registered for Sunday's auction.
The event brings a substantial amount of revenue to the county, and donations from that are made to organizations like Decatur County Hospice Care, the FFA at South Decatur High School, Greensburg Community High School, the GCHS Pirateer Cheer Squads and several others.
In the larger buildings on the Decatur County Fairgrounds were toy sales and food booths, while owners of period machinery displayed their works on the nearby grounds.
Saturday included a parade around the Commerce Building, a fiddle contest in the Community Building, and a wide range of other activities associated with the machinery and relics from the past.
Tim Trabel and his wife have been coming to the festival from Yorktown, Indiana since it began 33 years ago. For this event, they showed their 1913 "George White" steam-driven tractor, which was made in Canada. The Trabels traveled 1,300 miles to purchase the steamer in 1995, and shipped it home on a semi-tractor.
"It was in pretty rough shape when we got it, but that's my hobby," Trabel said.
He added that it took about two years of work rebuilding the engine.
"You work on them all the time once you buy them, to tell the truth," Trabel said. "You're always restoring on a steam engine, and if you need parts sometimes you have to make them yourself."
Duane Hansford and his wife run a booth at the Power of the Past and have been attending the event for 25 years.
"It's good when you can help people and make a little money at the same," Duane said.
"This has been a very good year," Cherry said.
Monday, South Decatur High School FFA and Greensburg Community High School FFA helped Cherry round up the final load of trash as he noted that the large number of people who attended this year's show were especially tidy.
Contact Bill Rethlake at 812-651-0876 or email bill.rethlake@greensburgdailynews.com
