Threshing show celebrates 30 years

You won’t want to miss the fun this Friday, Saturday and Sunday at Heritage Hill, east of Montevideo on Hwy. 7.

The Minnesota Valley Antique Farm Power & Machinery Association presents the 30th Annual Threshing Show.

There is something for everyone, from kiddy pedal pull, women’s activities daily, toy displays, tractor pulls and more. Queen coronation, live music and a Sunday worship service add to this fun-filled event.

Breakfast will be served daily starting at 7 a.m. and food served all day long. See the schedule in this week’s paper as well as a complete events list on posters in the area.

For more information, contact Wes Thompson at (320) 269-8470 or at wwtoys@charter.net.

PHRASES you
might remember:
I was sent this, and thought it may bring back some memories.
“Fender skirts” — a term I haven’t heard in a long time, and thinking about “fender skirts” started me thinking about other words that quietly disappear from our language with hardly a notice like “curb feelers” and “steering knobs.” (AKA) “suicide knob,” “neckers knobs.”

Since I’d been thinking of cars, my mind naturally went in that direction first. Any kids will probably have to find some person over 50 to explain some of these terms to you.

Remember “Continental kits”? They were rear bumper extenders and spare tire covers that were supposed to make any car as cool as a Lincoln Continental.

When did we quit calling them “emergency brakes”? At some point “parking brake” became the proper term. But I miss the hint of drama that went with “emergency brake.”

I’m sad, too, that almost all the old folks are gone who would call the accelerator the “foot feet.” Many today do not even know what a clutch is or that the dimmer switch used to be on the floor. Didn’t you ever wait at the street for your dad to come home, so you could ride the “running board” up to the house.

Here’s a phrase I heard all the time in my youth but never anymore — “store-bought.” Of course, just about everything is store-bought these days. But once it was bragging material to have a store-bought dress or a store-bought bag of candy.

When was the last time you heard the quaint phrase “in a family way”? It’s hard to imagine that the word “pregnant” was once considered a little too graphic, a little too clinical for use in polite company, so we had all that talk about stork visits and “being in a family way” or simply “expecting.”

Here’s a word I miss — “percolator.” That was just a fun word to say. And what was it replaced with “coffee maker.”

I miss those made-up marketing names that were meant to sound so modern and now sound so retro. Words like “Dynaflow” and “Electrolux.” Introducing the 1963 Admiral TV, now with “SpectraVision!”

Food for thought. Was there a telethon that wiped out lumbago? Nobody complains of that anymore. Maybe that’s what castor oil cured, because I never hear mothers threatening kids with castor oil anymore.

Some words aren’t gone, but are definitely on the endangered list. The one that grieves me most is “supper.” Now everybody says “dinner.” Save a great word. Invite someone to supper. Discuss fender skirts.

Thought of the week
Was learning cursive really necessary?