Sparks fly during Doughty Valley Steam Days
These plumes of glowing ashes being emitted several stories high is reminiscent of a volcano spewing forth its fiery contents.
The Doughty Valley Steam Days took place on a farm near Charm July 26-28, and the sparks flew.
Each year at the steam show one of the weekend highlights is when several steam engines crank up the heat, lay down a bed of extremely hot coals and add water. Then they allow those ashes to turn hot and shoot skyward to paint a nighttime picture that can best be described as an output of glowing orange volcanic ash soaring into the heavens.
Over the years some people have compared the annual sparks show to fireworks, fireflies and other assorted nighttime light shows, and there were more than a few cameras videoing the event.
“They make a bed of really hot, extra-deep ashes in their steam engines,” Doughty Valley Steam Days President J.R. Miller said. “They mix water with it so it doesn’t burn right away and cover it up. It sits there and smolders. Then they work it really hard, and all of these sparks go up through the flu and into the night sky. It is a great spectacle, and we have some good guys who really know how to spark.”
The conditions for the spark show on Friday, July 27 were perfect. There was little wind, meaning the sparks would go straight up into the air. Once the steam engines got rolling, the orange lava-like flows soared skyward to about 30-40 feet high, creating an eerie, orange glow around the field.
Between the sparks show, the field demonstrations of sawing and plowing, the garden tractor parade, a tractor pull, a humans-versus-machine tug-of-war, and the allure of these old steam engines, a record crowd turned out throughout the weekend to step back in time.
The garden tractor parade, sponsored by Commercial & Savings Bank, was new to the slate of entertainment and was well received. Any garden tractor driver under the age of 18 was rewarded with a $10 certificate they could take to CSB and open up a savings account.
It was all part of a busy weekend in which the weather was extremely cooperative with sunny skies but not a lot of humidity.
“It’s been an amazing weekend,” Miller said. “I think next year we will see the garden tractor parade grow, and we might allow people to actually bring in floats with their tractors next year for something new.”
The Friday evening tractor pull was loudly received by fans, and the tractor show had close to 100 entrants, a number that exploded over the past two years. Miller said just a couple of years ago they had 15-20 tractors at the show, but all of a sudden it caught fire and took off.
The show included two Wooster-based Oliver tractors, one of which was a one-of-a-kind, the other which was one of 10 known tractors of its model. Those models were an Oliver Super-77 and an Oliver 770.
Miller said those two tractors were row crop tractors that are generally used for higher corn harvest.
Keeping the history of these old power sources that once thrived and were a major part of America's farming industry is a major goal of the show, and those old iron horses of America's past were put to use to thresh hay, saw wood and demonstrate how power was generated in former days.
"People love to come and watch these steam engines in action," Miller said. "This allows us a chance to showcase steam and give people a glimpse into a form of farming that isn't used much anymore. It is keeping the story of these engines alive for future generations."