Antique tractors, cars highlighted at farm show

DOUGHERTY MUSEUM

ABOVE: This sheepherder’s wagon was used by a family in Ft. Lupton in the early 1900s. You can check out the inside at the Yesteryear Farm Show. ABOVE, LEFT: Cassie Reid peeks around a John Deere tractor Saturday at the Yesteryear Farm Show. AT LEFT: Jill Belue and her son, John, 9, take an antique tractor for a ride on Saturday at the Yesteryear Farm Show. The event is at the Dougherty Museum, 8306 N. 107th St., through the end of the day, today.

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By Gabi Blecher

gblecher28@gmail.com

When Harvey Nelson started the Yesteryear Farm Show in 1986, it was him, his daughter and three tractors, said daughter Valerie Nelson.

This year, the three-day event at The Dougherty Museum, 8306 N. 107th St., south of Longmont, has exhibits and activities for all ages, including tractors. The annual event started Friday and wraps up Sunday.

“My dad wanted to teach children where their food is coming from. You don’t just go to the grocery store, he wanted them (to know) that there is someone working to do it,” Valerie Nelson said.

At the event, attendees can explore a collection of antique farm tractors, machinery and stationary engines. Organizers also have put together demonstrations of threshing, baling, blacksmithing, spinning and weaving.

Visitors can explore a diverse array of antiques, including antique military equipment, vintage cars and trucks and old-fashioned camping gear.

“The local farmers get together to play with their toys,” adds Larry Henson, another organizer, “It keeps the farming tradition alive.”

People have brought some unusual things to the event over the years, according to Dave Brown, an event organizer. One guy brought a giant wooden water wheel from Vermont, for example, Brown said. The museum venue also is a draw, organizers said.

The Dougherty Museum was founded by Ray Dougherty in 1977 and originally operated as a family-run establishment, open just one day a week. As public interest grew, the museum expanded its hours to Fridays through Sundays from June to August.

It showcases a variety of items from the early 1900s to the 1930s, including around 40 cars, farm equipment and musical instruments.“When they founded it, they were farmers, and they just wanted to share Ray’s collection,” said Ann Wolford, a worker at the museum. The Yesteryear event originally took place at the Boulder County Fair.

The event moved to the museum around 13 years ago because of its growth and has since become a family tradition for many.

This year, new features at the event include a teeter-totter, a corn shucker demonstration, and a hay bale maze, as well as a handmade tractor named Cubson.

Kids can sit on, take pictures with, and play in the Cubson, making the event more kid-friendly.

“We made up a little bitty tractor out of pieces and parts of various other tractors.

We call it a Cubson because it’s made basically from a farm-old Cub and a Gibson,” said Brown.

Harvey Nelson passed away in 2023. But his legacy carries on through the annual community event, organizers said.