What I Saw Today, Corning Ark.

Walt in Jaxn Tn.

Well-known Member
Well, this was an exceptional show, even for Corning which always has a good show. The weather was perfect, unlike earlier years when recent rains would make the show field soggy. Tractor Dan and I left West Tennessee early and got there just in time to get a good parking place.
Dan came by around 5:30 and we left for Arkansas stopping in Kennett Mo for breakfast, then on to Corning Ark by way of Rector Ark and over the Crawley Ridge. The leaves were just turning and farmers were out in the fields bringing in the cotton, rice and soy beans. I took around 170 images and videos and selected some 140 for here. If you see someone you know, please let them know that their photo is on the internet. The Ahrent family provided a lot of the equipment (in it's working clothes and working)If you see a photo that you are interested in, email me and I will forward the full size image along with any extra images that I did not post here.
There were over 200 antique/classic cars at the car show. I always see sometinig new and different at this car show (like and Auburn Boat tail one year).
The folks there were very friendly and the flea market was no exception. There was live intertainment at the stage all day from a square dancing group early to rock bands and country bands probably up into the night after we left.
When floks find Corning, they come back.
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This was what it was all about. A large elevator loading barges with soy beans to go down to the gulf and on to parts of the world. Let me know what you think and let my know that you were here. Pass on information to floks that you know that you saw here.
--Walt--
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The tow boat Jody McMinn on the left and another much larger tow boat on the other side of the river headed south to New Orleans
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If I had a tree as big as this, huge cottonwood in my back yard I would have to build a tree house in it. No telling how old this tree is or how many ropes have been thrown around it from barges and steam boats from earlier times.
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Dan wanted me to see this split manifold header
I've never seen one before and would like to put one on my 1992 Ford F-150 straight six.
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To much to see and not enough time to do it. A shot across the field. I lost Dan for two hours and thought he'd been picked up for stlaking one of the many pretty girls at the show.
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Great pictures as always Walt. It seems obvious to me that you have a love of all things old, rural, farm and machinery related, and I would guess of course the gatherings of people who enjoy the same. Maybe "pastoral" is the word I am looking for.
No doubt you enjoy the photography part of it and sharing it with all of us on here. You must know yourself how it makes people feel to see these scenes from the past. At 49 I'm not really old enough to have been any part of these times, but often feel like it was when I should have lived.
Thanks for the pics.
I also had to respond to this particular post from you because of some other underlying things. I will try to keep this short, and if you've ever read some of my other posts you know that means less than can be read in a day.
I worked on the Mississippi River, on a towboat like the larger one you showed, for about 8 years, in the 80's. The scene at Caruthersville is very familiar to me. In 83 (and more recently) that was all under water, and I watched all of it from the middle of the river. In 88 it was just the opposite. The river just very nearly dried up. I have pictures (paper) of the Mississippi Queen and Delta Queen docking together right at the spot where you took those pictures. Those two boats used to race from N.O. to St.Louis every year for the 4th of July. So you hit the nostalgia button for me twice on this post.

Additionally, I lived in Piggott Ar. during the time I worked on the boats, and so am very familiar with all of the towns you mentioned, and many more. Clay county has the distinction of having two county seats, Piggott and Corning. It goes back to early days when it was difficult for people to get from one side of the county to the other, because of Crowleys Ridge and the Black River. My mother still lives in Piggott, and in fact she came over to the show to see if she could spot you and visit with you a little. She actually went to see if she could pick up some serial number and other "details" info for me (do mothers ever stop trying to please their kids?) on letter series Waterloo tractors, but wanted to catch you as well. You see her maiden name was Ferguson. Her sister lives on the Natchez Trace, near Collinwood Tn. She came home and sent me kind of a dejected e-mail, that she had not spotted you. I had told her ahead of time to look for someone taking a lot of pictures (and not to pester you too much), and had sent her one of your past posts that showed you in a picture.
Maybe next time.
Thanks again for the memories and past it brings back for me, and I'm sure many others. I could go on forever about my time in Clay county, and my life on the rivers, but this is your post.
Thanks Walt.
Tim
 
A good third of the cars were modified antiques like this one. Another third were late model classics like limited edition Corvettes and Mustangs
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My younger brother bought his wife a gold 1968 Mustang and I wanted to get several shots of this red with white convertible top to show him
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This is the stage in the park where live intertainment was present all day, no idle times. The link is the square dancers video. Years ago when I first attended this festival there was a group of dancers that were colgging and they were very good. No one in the group was under 40 and they were as good as this group (copy and paste the following link to see the video) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmJj6LZogms&feature=related
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Square dancers
 
Early morning shot. This is a free show (except for the lawn mower races that got started last year and are located at the far northwest corner of the festival)
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Makes me want to live in Jackson, Tenn. What a great collection. Almost like being there. Such clean machines. Thanks for those who can't travel to see all this. Dave
 
Great pictures, Walt.
My first car was a 1967 2 door T-bird similar to the one you show with the suicide doors. Never see that body style at car shows around here, only '66 and older or '70 and newer.
Thanks for the memories.
 

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