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PHOTOS: Old time farming in Ponoka brought back to life

Farmers and volunteers gathered to help relive the old days of farming on about five-acres of land
Jeffrey Heyden-Kaye
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Windy harvest: Chaff from threshed oats piles up while a heavy wind blew bits of it around the field. Ken Pohl operates the thresher while other volunteers load the oats into it using pitch forks. The old time harvest is a great example of why folks used to work together to harvest fields as it took many hands to get the work done. Photo by Jeffrey Heyden-Kaye

By Jeffrey Heyden-Kaye

Farmers and volunteers gathered to help relive the old days of farming on about five-acres of land

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Chaff flying: A heavy wind was enough to blow chaff around during the old time harvest.
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Sea of grains: Allan Weinhandl uses a pitchfork to load stooked oats into a thresher Oct. 20 during an old time harvest. About 30 or so volunteers came to help harvest the five-acres of oats. While some loaded grains into the thresher, others used horse drawn wagons loaded with oats and brought them to the machine. Photo by Jeffrey Heyden-Kaye
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Horse power farming: While folks loaded oats into a thresher, others collected the stooks using pitch forks and horse-drawn wagons. It was all part of a project by the Ponoka Agricultural Society intended to recognize the early days of farming. Photo by Jeffrey Heyden-Kaye
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Pulley to the rescue: Allan Weinhandl throws oats into a thresher Oct. 20 on Ken Pohl’s farm north of Ponoka. A belt can be seen to the right, which runs the thresher using an old John Deere tractor. Photo by Jeffrey Heyden-Kaye
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Harvest and threshing: Don Campbell and Allan Weinhandl load stooked oats into a thresher Oct. 20 during an old time harvest on Ken Pohl’s farm north of Ponoka. About 30 or so volunteers came to help harvest the five-acres of oats, with the proceeds going to the Canadian Foodgrains Bank. Photo by Jeffrey Heyden-Kaye
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Harvest and threshing: Don Campbell and Allan Weinhandl load stooked oats into a thresher. About 30 or so volunteers came to help harvest the five-acres of oats, with the proceeds going to the Canadian Foodgrains Bank. Photo by Jeffrey Heyden-Kaye