The Georgian Bay Steam Show is a celebration of the technology of yesteryear, and the ingenuity of the agricultural community.
It’s also a lot of fun.
Displays and demonstrations trace the history of farming, from horse-drawn plows to steam-powered machines that revolutionized agriculture at the turn of the 20th century, to the gas-powered motors that supplanted them.
There are vintage tractors, antique and classic cars, heritage crafts, all coming together for four days on the Civic Holiday weekend – brought to the Cookstown show grounds by Steam Club members and enthusiasts from across the province and beyond.
The show is made possible by “countless volunteers putting in many hours,” said President Gary Frampton, volunteers who not only maintain the grounds, but who collect, maintain and restore the equipment. “We love doing it. We want to continue doing it,” he said.
The satisfaction comes from seeing the machines in action. Steam engines patrol the grounds, pulling the “people-movers” that carry visitors from one end of the grounds to another. Tractors and motors power everything from a sawmill, shingle mill, and rock crusher, to water pumps and washing machines.
And members enter their vintage tractors in the tractor pull, on the Club’s track – trying to haul a sledge filled with heavy weights as far down the track as possible; the weights shift over the distance, making the sledge harder and harder to pull.
Jake Hulse of Schomberg was waiting for the start of the 5,500 lb. class in the Antique Tractor Pull, with his 1350 Cockshutt. Asked about the attraction of pulling, Hulse explained, “It’s for bragging rights – although there’s probably not many bragging rights for this. It’ll probably be last.”
While some contestants bring tractors that are kept only for pulling, Hulse’s 1967 tractor is still used on the family farm, he said.
“It’s a feature tractor at the show this year,” he noted with pride. The 2018 Steam Show featured Minneapolis Moline and Waterloo tractors; Hulse’s tractor, sold as a Cockshutt in Canada, “is actually Minneapolis Moline.”
Diane Baverstock of Gravenhurst brought her Minneapolis Moline U to compete in the same class. Baverstock, who has been pulling “since I was 12 or 13,” couldn’t explain what attracted her to pulling, and to competitions like the Georgian Bay show – except to say, “It’s fun.”
The Antique Tractor Pull was a casual event, with plenty of breaks as the sledge was adjusted and “tweaked.” The pulling would be more serious on Sunday, when the Georgian Bay Steam Show hosts an OTTPA (Ontario Truck and Tractor Pulling Association) event at 6 p.m., featuring Hot Stock 4x4 trucks and modified diesel trucks, vintage and modified tractors on the Cookstown track – ear-splitting excitement that always attracts a good crowd.
Among the dignitaries attending the Steam Show was MP for York-Simcoe Peter Van Loan, who noted that the machines on display were the cutting edge of technology in their day. “Things have grown from the days of the steam engine – massive growth,” he said, shaping the province and the country.
Van Loan’s riding formerly included the Cookstown area, but boundaries were redrawn in the last election to create the new riding of Barrie-Innisfil. “I keep coming back, even though I’m not the representative of the area,” he said. “I love the Georgian Bay Steam Show… It’s been an honour representing you in the past. It’s been an honour coming here.”
Steam engines, models and tractors filled the showgrounds, chugging and clanking, their owners happy to talk to visitors about everything from horsepower to history. There were vendors selling parts and antiques to enthusiasts, food trucks offering poutine and ice cream cones, live music on the main stage, a steam whistle symphony at noon and a Vehicle & Equipment Parade in the afternoon – even an old-time blacksmith working on a forge.
Innisfil Deputy Mayor Lynn Dollin thanked the steam club volunteers for their contributions year after year, making the show possible – volunteers like Shirley Corbyn, secretary of the club since 1989 – and for bringing in a new generation. “Some of their kids are members,” she noted, continuing the tradition.
The Georgian Bay Steam Show continues this Civic Holiday weekend at the steam show grounds on Victoria St. W. in Cookstown. Accompanied children under 12 are free.
