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Steam & Gas Engine Show makes its return
Wednesday, September 23, 2020
By Jonathan Martin
The Essex County Steam & Gas Engine Show attracted small crowds last weekend. The “reduced” show hosted around 150 attendees on Saturday and around 85 by Sunday afternoon, the president of the Essex County Steam & Gas Engine Museum, Gary Struhar, said. “That amounts to around half (of last year’s attendance),” he said. “The crowd has been good, though. I see a lot of masks and a lot of distance between people, which is what we want for safety’s sake.” The event forwent live music, sanctioned tractor pulls and live demonstrations this year in favour of what Struhar described as a – physically-distanced – “personal touch.” The festival’s attendees strolled between widelyspaced exhibitors, who showed off their antique steam and gas-powered machines. Some squealed as they sawed wood. Some puttered as they pumped water. All were big, heavy and very clearly came from another time. “I get some people coming through who tell me they remember these engines from their childhoods,” said Chris McCaffrey, one of the event’s exhibitors. “They remember their dads or grandfathers using them, and they bring their stories.” Struhar said the show’s exhibitors – and the museum’s regular exhibits – help remind the public of Essex County’s industrial and agricultural history. In the museum’s permanent exhibit, machines used by Hiram-Walker to construct housing for its employees still chug along. Massive wheels move giant belts that turn drills and slide saws. Like something from a 20th century newsreel, steam puffs and gears turn. Many of the turning gears were built in Windsor-Essex County,
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Chris McCaffrey poses behind one of his gas-powered engines at the Essex County Steam & Gas Engine Show in McGregor last Sunday. The show included all sorts of old machinery. (Photo by Jonathan Martin)
Struhar said. “When old factories clean out their equipment, a lot of them contact me to see if I want any of it,” he said. “A lot of the time, I take it. I just can’t help myself.” “Personally, I think this is all pretty cool,” McCaffrey added. The show was held on the grounds of Co-An Park, where the the Essex County Steam & Gas Engine Museum is located. For more information on the museum, visit www.essexstamandgas engine.com. Gary Struhar, president of the Essex County Steam And Gas Engine Museum, stands in front of the museum’s permanent exhibit in McGregor last Sunday. The museum hosted a “reduced” version of its annual Essex County Steam & Gas Engine Show over the weekend. (Photo by Jonathan Martin)
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