Crystal Aakre calls herself a “lifer” with the Western Minnesota Steam Threshers Reunion. Like many who’ll be spending Labor Day weekend in Rollag, she literally grew up among the steam engines and threshing machines of Steamer Hill. As one of several hundred dedicated regulars who make up the WMSTR family, she’ll soon be back for another year, enjoying every sooty, noisy, nostalgic minute.
It’s a tradition that families like Crystal’s have passed along for three or four or even five generations, bringing the ways of a bygone day back to life on the Clay County countryside. Beginning with the big old Montana boiler’s whistle at 5:30 Friday morning, the grounds come alive with the sights, sounds, smells and experiences of nearly 100 years ago.
Dubbed “The Great Minneapolis Expo,” this year’s salute to classic farm equipment features the implements that came to be known in 1929 as Minneapolis Moline Power Implement Company. Its roots date back even further to the Moline (Illinois) Plow Company in 1870; the steam traction engines of the Minneapolis Threshing Equipment Company in 1888 and tractors in 1910; and Twin City Tractors, established in 1908.
They’ll lead off parades at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday, when the dirt-packed streets vibrate with the passage of mammoth steam engines, putt-putting early gas tractors and the roar of more modern equipment. Visitors can watch the fire-spitting machinery threshing and doing other heavy-muscle work all day long and late into the evening, when the wood- and coal-fired boilers’ “spark show” lights up the night.
Crystal grew up in the farmhouse just east of Steamer Hill. Her grandfather, the late Robert Aakre, joined his Nelson cousins in firing up their sidelined steam-powered machinery for old times’ sake on the eve of World War II. When their idea was revived in 1954, the Aakre clan became one of many who’ve sustained the event ever since – from Robert to son Ronald and wife Faye Smiley-Aakre, and on to Crystal and her younger brother Shaun.
When Crystal was a toddler, she lay awake listening for that whistle to blow at dawn. “That meant it was time to get up, put on our bibs and go up for breakfast at the eat shack,” she says fondly. As they do today, the steam community gathered in one of the rough church-operated dining halls for pancakes, scrambled eggs with ham, breakfast sausages and sometimes French toast. “It was – still is – the best part of the day,” the 32-year-old volunteer proclaims.
While the Aakre tradition lies more with gas-powered machinery, Crystal and her brother grew up doing a bit of everything on the grounds. “Our mothers drafted us for the fashion shows when we were three,” she says of herself and fellow “lifer” Rachel (Baker) Mitchell, who wore old-fashioned 1890s nightgowns in their first modeling gigs and have been part of the shows ever since.
Since her grandparents and parents were involved in all kinds of pursuits at the events, Crystal was left to find her own place in the close-knit community. Her mother encouraged her to try a variety of things as she grew older and enteredherteens – helping riders on and off wooden ponies on the 1914 CW Parker Carousel, pumping the bellows in the blacksmith shop, and riding with her father or granddad on their prized red IH tractors in the parades. She did “ladies’ stuff,” too, dressing up in period gear and demonstrating everyday pursuits in the Main Street house.
She became a regular in the fashion shows, organized and narrated for the past 34 years by Joan Kieffer of Casselton. “Last year Joan ‘volun-told’ me that she was stepping back. I’ll be taking over as master of ceremonies this week along with Rachel.” She’s also been tapped to advise future Expo committees, who start from scratch shortly after each event to put together the next year’s special equipment feature.
It was inevitable, perhaps, that Crystal would team up with Jason Olson, another steam enthusiast raised near Evansville, Minnesota. He was restoring a 50HP Case engine on the grounds when they met. The two, who bought a farmstead between Rothsay and Erhard, share a love of vintage equipment and all that entails. They recently bought a 48-inch circular sawmill at an auction, competing with other steam enthusiasts from around the state. They intend to use it to create flooring for their home. “It may take a few years,” Crystal notes. “We need to get a steam engine first.”
Until they bought their house, Crystal lived almost year-round on the WMSTR grounds in an Airstream trailer she’d bought shortly after college. Before that, the Hawley High School graduate was a denizen of downtown Fargo, where she made scores of friends as, among other roles, the founder of the Zombie Pub Crawl. She and friend Jen Hoy established the Stand Up for Women ND Facebook page, which in three years has drawn nearly 9,000 followers.
A graphic designer by day, Crystal works at Sundog Interactive in Fargo; she previously handled website design and operation for Vanity. She applies her design talent and knowledge of the Web to WMSTR promotion, too. She administers the Thresher Reunion’s popular Facebook page and assists Tim Dachtera with its website, rollag.com. She also designs posters and other materials for the show and assists Kathy Hamre with its advertising.
As an old hand on Steamer Hill, Crystal offers some practical advice to newcomers who’ll join the 90,000 attendees expected from tomorrow through Monday: “Wear comfortable walking shoes. Parking and all the activities are free, including rides on the Soo Line 0-6-0 class switch engine and its open cars. For all the food – great stuff, from hot dogs and Swedish meatballs to rommegrot, caramel rolls and ice cream cones – it’s easiest to use cash.”
The best thing about bringing the whole family, she adds, is what the kids can experience nowhere else. “They can ask to ride on a steam engine. They’ll see how logs are sawed into lumber and how grain becomes flour. They’ll watch horses pulling plows, just like the pioneers.
“That’s what keeps it going – parents and grandparents and great-grandparents coming with their kids. I remember the excitement myself from the earlier times I can recall.” She pauses. “It’s just amazing – we’re all a family. There’s nothing else quite like coming to Rollag.”
Admission to the Western Minnesota Steam Threshers Reunion is $12 per day or $20 for a season pass. Children 14 and under are free. A four-day camping pass for a primitive site on Steamer Hill is $35, not including admission. No dogs (except medical service animals) are permitted on the ground.
