What I observed at our show this year

The Albert City Ia show was this weekend and boy was it a big one. We aren't the biggest show by any means but this year saw a huge turnout for us. The weather was perfect. A normal three day show has an attendance of 10,000-11,000 but I haven't yet heard the count for this year. My job was organizing the people movers in the parking lot so I had a first hand view of who actually came.

By the way, if any of you YTers were at the show and have a suggestion or gripe about the people movers, or anything about the show let me know. Old Popper had a stolen gas cap and another exhibitor lost and air cleaner jar. This is not good. You really feel violated when that happens and it puts a bad taste in your mouth about the show and people in general. I'm going to bring this up to the board president. I have an idea on where the gremlins came from but I can't prove it. We do have nighttime security but it's hard to catch everything.

Anyway, we had a lot of young families visiting us and that's very encouraging. Friday was normal by the number count but every veteran of the show, including me thought there were more people there than the count shows. Friday the 14 acre visitor parking lot was 2/3 full. Saturday the parking was filled and cars were sent to the main show grounds to park. I think this happened once before but it's rare. Yesterday, Sunday, the parking was 3/4 full, which is good for a Sunday.

Besides managing two tractor pulled people movers I had access to a golf cart with an extra seat in back, so while my drivers were running the people movers I ran around with that golf cart offering rides to stragglers and especially people who were having a hard time getting around. Yesterday I got to thinking about how much more effort these handicapped folks have made to come to the show compared to us who are able bodied. We who can get around well just don't think about that. I helped people who where on chemo who didn't hardly have enough energy to get up in the morning, but they still came. I hauled people with bad hips and knees and backs, but they still came. And then there were the elderly who wouldn't think of getting a handicapped sticker even though they couldn't hardly support their own weight. In fact, some of those old folks with a cane refused a ride even though they were parked way out in the boonies. On a humerous note, if I offered a ride on the cart to a man and wife walking together, almost every time the man wanted to ride and the lady did not. I'd sit there listening to the man trying to coax his wife to get aboard too. Maybe she had bad premonitions about ME, this white haired guy with an old straw hat who needed a shave and wore faded blue jeans and chambray shirt . LOL

I will admit my one fault, or maybe strength, depending on how you decipher it, was stopping to visit with the folks I assisted after we got to their car while others who might have needed a lift had to limp to their car unassisted because I wasn't there to help them. Stopping to visit did give me a good idea of who these people were, where they came from and their reason for coming. It was very enjoyable.

When the show was over and the parking lot was empty I was in a kind of a funk for awhile knowing all those thousands of folks were now gone and I didn't have anyone to get long-winded with anymore. Well, there's next year and I can't wait.

On a closing note, on Saturday while I was hauling people back out to their cars, I noticed a pickup with a flat tire parked in one of the far rows. When I had the time I called the show's maintenance man and asked if he could come with his compressor whenever the pickup's owner showed up. A couple of hours later the maintenance man came with compressor and tools before the pickup's owner had showed up so we pumped up his tire for him. The tire had a pretty fast leak and it was obvious the pickup wouldn't get far, so we stood there, leaning against the maintenance man's pickup shooting the bull for a few minutes. It wasn't long till the pickup's owner came and was alerted to his problem. Right about then I spotted a couple who needed a lift to their car so I took off and helped them. While I was gone the maintenance man helped the pickup's owner put the spare on and the owner went on his way. How many times have you had a tire go flat in the parking lot while you were at the show and the show staff was there waiting to fix it when you returned? This is what keeps people coming back next year.

Well, that's enough for now. We all tend to concentrate on the cold hard steel lined up in rows at shows, but without the good, warm bodied folks who come to see the steel and paint we wouldn't have a show. Jim

Good on ya fixer! I'm in "limp mode" myself so I know the handicapped folks appreciated the lift.

We attended on Friday. That made the third visit for me and the second visit for my wife. It was an excellent show and were not disappointed in the least. Granted, the "full year of farming in just 60 minutes" needed a little work, but I"m sure you folks will get the bugs worked out by next year.

I"m kind of in limp mode myself, and really appreciated the ride from where we parked up to the main gate. Once we were in the gate though, there was just TOO much to see to worry about catching a ride on a people mover, so I just limped around the best I could. Should"ve brought my walkin" stick, but I"m not yet convinced I need it.

Those Aultman-Taylor tractors never fail to keep me entertained, and I could set and watch, and listen, to those steamers all day long.

Fixerupper,
I also run one of the people movers at our annual show. I love meeting and talking with the people. Many times I'll take a wagon load of people off the regular route and drive out to the field along the steam engines and tractors that are plowing in the fields so they can get a close up view. They love it.
We have 5 schools that send the 3rd graders out on Friday of our show. I take them out to the corn field and let them off to pick a few ears of corn. The kids love that. The bus drivers don't like me any more because their buses are full of corn kernels after the field trip and they have to sweep them out... LOL. If that's the worse the kids do they're normal. I know many of the bus drivers since I use to work for the bus terminal.

Funny you had so many walkers ? Do you guys restrict people from riding around in some way ?

Some of the last shows I went to you really had to watch out to keep from getting ran over from all the golf carts, modified lawn mowers and even tractors driving all over the place. Seemed dangerous to me.

The parking lot at our show is across the county blacktop from the actual show grounds, but a lot of older folks or people who have a hard time walking still walk it. I'd like to attribute it to we Iowans being just plain tough and wanting to keep going through adversity but I don't think that's the real reason. The golf cart/ATV problem at our show is just as prevalent as any other show. We have restricted visitor golf carts to handicap sticker holders only which helps somewhat. Sometimes I think we might have too many of these vehicles driven by staff and workers, but I was a director there for 23 years, been off three or four years now, but when I was active there I wouldn't have been near as effective if I would have had to walk. One thing I think needs to be addressed is little kids on homemade putt-putts with a little Briggs and Stratton weaving around among the people. Years ago we had a kid on a souped up garden tractor get hurt when he tipped it and that sparked interest in setting an age limit, but it's faded away now. Anyway, I still think threshing show/gas engine show people are the salt of the earth types we need more of. Jim

We got there early on Saturday and were able to park in the front row next to the port-a-pots. My kids were disappointed as they wanted to ride the people haulers/trolleys but I said we parked too close and other people needed the rides more. Was a great time. Don't get too worried about small complaints. You can't please everyone 100% of the time.