History Center

History Center

Questions can be directed to Gloria Parsisson: 740-625-6313 or gparsisson@gmail.com

last update 12102011

Courtesy of Erin Beck

Courtesy of Gloria Parsisson

In 2011 we celebrated the 20th year of working on the Oldtime Farming Festival. It was 1991 when the vision and planning began for what would become the Oldtime Farming Festival. The Centerburg Area Development committee came up with the idea for a one day event celebrating the area's farming past. It took almost a year to pull the vision and event together. And you know the saying, "If you do something well, you will be asked to do it again." And they were: over and over and over again.

Did you know that the Oldtime Farming Festival donates farm and farm history books to the Centerburg Public Library?

History Center Displayed Festival's Beginnings

While 20 years is a brief period of time as a history event we had information from the early years of the Festival plus many pictures and festival related items. We included an overview of the behind the scenes activities of putting on this two day Festival. There were also other items and handouts from the past of this area of southwest Knox County including Hilliar, Milford and Liberty Townships. The Knox County Historical Society also had items in the History Center.

Congratulations on 20 years of coming together to produce a fun, free, informative Festival!

1995 Oldtime Farming Festival Parade

History can be fun. Stop by the History Center.

Courtesy of Gloria Parsisson

History of the First Ten Years of The Oldtime Farming Festival

1991 Planning and work begin in June. The Centerburg Area Development Committee pushes forward the idea of a community festival of the area's farming past with old farm equipment on display. CADC Vice President Gary Bertelsen headed up the festival committee with the help of Bill Valsic, a local accomplished glass blower, to help with the arts and crafts show. The committee chose the third weekend in September for the festival, trying to avoid surrounding community events. Featured events are to include an old time farm machinery display, along with a parts swap, a judged old time crafts show and a draft horse pull. Other possibilities suggested were a fiddle contest, a blacksmith, cider making, old fashioned kid's games, a horseshow tournament, a kiddie tractor pull, and a hay ride and food concessions, Important committees would be grounds, games, food, publicity, entertainment, finance, arts and crafts, horses and tractors/machinery.

1992 The first Festival. September 19th, one day. Main attraction was old tractors (26), machinery and equipment manufactured prior to 1961. Other features included demonstrations of crafts and craft sales; ham and bean soup; blacksmith; Amish baked good, cheese and meats; water balloon toss and FFA petting zoo. Fund raising auctioned chances for a pie in the face of local notables. The location was in front of Atzinger's Cardinal Market and a field east of the store owned by Milo Walton. Committee members were Wilbur Buxton, Ralph Compton, John Eley, Gene Jackson, Tim Mackley, Dodie Melvin, Bev Moore, Susie Oswalt, Kendle Postle and Bruce Williams. Free parking and admission.

1993 With success the first year the new Festival moved locations (to Centerburg Memorial Park) and doubled in time, September 18th and 19th. They expected around 50 tractors, had a vegetable contest (heaviest, tallest), petting zoo, pie eating contest, cake walk, softball tournament, hayrides, dog demonstration, a craft show on Saturday and a flea marked on Sunday as well as Christian music. Centerburg Lions Club sponsored a five mile run on Saturday. There was a flag raising ceremony each day at 8 am. Free parking and admission.

1994 Held September 17th and 18th including returning event: five mile run, antique tractor and farm machinery, tallest corn stalk, craft show, hayrides, old fashioned baseball tournament, slowest tractor races, blacksmith, scroll sawyer, pie eating contest, ham and beans and cake walks. Entertainment used a Carter Lumber trailer parked near the cement stage. New events were: 50-50 dance (square and round), Muffins 1860's baseball team sponsored by the Heart of Ohio Women, musical groups, quilting bee, pie auction, antique tractor parade, old fashioned post office, draft horses for the hayrides, freaky vegetable contest, historic handmade doll display, face painting, kiddie tractor pull, farmer's market, nail driving contest, bring you own wiener roast Saturday night. Free parking and admission.

1995 More attractions, more food, more entertainment and huge crowds (near 6,000) pleased with the event are the reports from '95. Most all of the events remained the same, just more of everything. Antique tractors numbered over 50. Food concessions and craft vendors sold out in spite of rain on Sunday and were scrambling to resupply. The Muffins were rained out, but the overall event was considered a success. There were two draft teams for hayrides; musical entertainment increased, being held from noon on Saturday through Sunday. 38 vendors included crafters, farmers' market and business booths; food concessions (mostly local groups) included homemade ice cream, pizza, gyros, food trailer with sandwiches and other items, hot dogs, peanuts, Cracker Jacks, caramel apples and the open kettle ham and beans. The Festival saw an increase in numbers participating in the kiddie tractor pull. Games and contests added arm wrestling, bale throwing contest, Tootsie Roll in the hay, ciphering match. Other continuing events were Muffins old time baseball, farm animal petting zoo, 50-50 dance and the pie acction ($200). New were a cow milking contest for both experienced and amateurs plus sampling the milk and Lady Diamonds baseball. The first town parade (Our Pioneer Ancestors) with grand marshal Harold "Butch" Cordle was held on Saturday at 10 am. Free parking and admission. The Oldtime Farming Festival. committee was refining the event and focusing in what would be the core of this Festival. Visitors came mostly from Ohio but also Tennessee, South Carolina, Virginia, Nevada and Mexico.

1996 The Festival activities continued to grow. Demonstrations included making apple butter, sorghum and brooms, horse shoeing, spinning and weaving, ham and beans and threshing. There was a slow tractor race and an antique tractor parade at 5 pm on Saturday. Town parade theme: Farming- The Heart of it All with parade marshal Ed Johnson. The pie auction brought in $1,925. New: Additional parking in Bertha Selby's field and handicapped parking at the park, Captain Eddie's sport kites, Dave Jenkins border collies, Dr. Eldoonie, tug of war to replace the Muffins who were already scheduled, historical center, one of a kind doll auction by Kathleen LaValle, CHS alumni band, Saturday night barn dance 7:30 to midnight. Maybe the first Tab published by the Mount Vernon News. Free parking and admission.

1997 The entertainment and activities seemed to be settling in and the focus of the Festival committee was shifting more to fundraising, facilities and promotion of the Festival. The Festival committee starts doing the Centerburg Country Cruse In as a fund raiser in May. Over the summer a stage was constructed at the south side of the cement stage. They added a talent show poster contest for elementary children, a first aid ten, lean tos for some of the demonstrators, the Lions added a walk to the 5K and this was the first appearance of the Square Dancing Tractors from Delaware. By the numbers the pie auction brought in $5.155, there were 111 tractors, 12 crafters and 30 demonstrators. All free. OFF gave $500 to the local FFA scholarship fund. First year for the Youth Art Show?

1998 Early in '98 Jerry Scott makes suggestions on how to improve the Festival. This year's additions were more toward facilities and efficiency efforts: better loud speakers in the tractor area, two-way radios for committee members during the Festival, pocket Festival schedules, OFF committee members start wearing red vests, staining the stage, expansion of the park area by removing the old pond and cement spillway and clearing approximately two additional acres, addition of a bridge and walkway under Routes 3 and 36 from the Wade parking field, more promotion via radio and magazine articles and a professional video of the two-day Festival. We became members of the Ohio Festival and Event Association. Estimated attendance was 20,000.

1999 The promotion for this year read "the largest antique tractor show in central Ohio old fashioned demonstrations, games and contests, an old time country arts craft show, kids' activities, horse drawn hayrides, 2 full days of "live" entertainment on 3 stages, 3 parades, pies and doll auction, a horticulture show and lots more. We are proud to once again provide all this with free admission and free parking to all our visitors." The town parade theme was Preserving Our Past and the marshals were three of the Centerburg Library directors (Mary Stopher, Janice Hendrickson and Mishelle Durbin). The library was celebrating it's 75th year. Now that the park had been expanded to the west, a brideg across the North Fork of the Licking River was needed. Work started in June and was completed in time for the Festival. Early OFF member and local wood craftsman John Eley built a stage coach for Bob and Pauling Newton, a Festival Favorite.

2000 The Festival events continue each year with minor adjustments and an occasional replacement when needed. The OFF committee continues to look for ways to improve the Festival and the community. This year they improved and buried the electric service in the park. The Festival files for a 501 3C status and updated the by-laws accordingly. OFF always supports community events as funds allow. In 2000 we increased our scholarship money to $1,000, supported ISS and the Salvation Army as well as Jonesy's Kids, books on farming and antique equipment to the Centerburg Library. new this year; set aside $4,000 for cementing the floor of the big shelter house in 2001, started an Oldtime Farming Festival website www.oldtimefarmingfestval.org, Bumble Baskets works with the Festival to sell baskets for fund raising, "Mobile" foot bridge built from a truck frame, asking Keim Lumber for more benches for the Festival grounds and a new flag pole. Board members buy denim shirts with logo. We change from parade marshals to Festival Marshals

2001 Our 10th anniversary!! Cemented the floor of the large shelter house for the crafters. OFF takes over administering the scholarship funds, boarding the eligibility requirements. Increased Square Dancing Tractors performances to two days. Family Farm project added. Added light to the bridge and stage. Town parade theme: Farming is our Heritage- 10 Years of Celebration. Susie Oswalt and Wilbur Buxton were Festival marshals in honor of being Festival founders., Former resident Guy Bishop entertained.

Courtesy of The Village Photographer

Courtesy of Erin Beck