USA 2012: Western Minnesota Steam Threshers Reunion

Scott took me to the Western Minnesota Steam Threshers Reunion at Rollag for my birthday. It was an entirely different kind of experience that I had only ever seen in movies; all those tractors and midwestern drawls!

I have no idea what this thing is called, though I’ve seen it in cartoons… Scott and I got a chance to go down the tracks with this guy as our guide! It was so fun and got me excited like a little girl.

Stands are littered throughout the grounds to view the parade of machinery.

I love carousels, and being privy to its making was an eye-opener to the artistry of the wood carvings.

Carousel operating in the background to a live tune.

I was one of those children who queued at the lumber place for a stick, and subsequently queued at the forge to get my stick branded. The initials WMSTR stand for the event’s name.

The press! They were super friendly and even demonstrated twice just for me how this machine folded the paper. There were also print blocks! The man tending behind those was so helpful, and I think they used Bodoni as a font after comparing them to samples of text up on the wall.

The thing about being in the midwest was the extravagance of land. Even coming from Los Angeles, the city of driving (because it’s so spread out), I would continually be taken aback at how much space there was for public use in suburban Minnesota. Photo assist: Scott.

Wearing Forever 21 dress, Top Shoes boots, floral wreath from a renaissance faire. Photo assist: Scott.