Power Show Sets Stage for Excitement
Published: Friday, September 26, 2025
As late afternoon became dusk, steam engines were lining up for a parade in front of the grandstands at the Nappanee Power from the Past show grounds in Nappanee last Friday during the annual apple festival.
Heavy smoke filled the air as tractors and steam engines tested their strength against a Baker fan. Hundreds of people filled the grandstands, waiting for the next wow moment to arrive. First up was a tractor pull. The engines roared and the rubber tires crinkled as the tractors struggled to pull the heavy drag.
"Open it up," cried the announcer, Alvin Troyer. "There you go, there you go."
After one tractor competed, another took its place. Each time, Troyer rooted for a full pull.
"Oh, boy! Come on, let's have some fun," he shouted.
Several drivers pulled the sled over 200 feet and had "a perfectly good drive," Troyer said from his announcer stand.
The pulling contest gave way to a parade of steam engines. These units moved slowly down the pull strip, with the announcer listing some of the interesting features of each machine. When passing the announcer's stand, the drivers were asked to make their engines whistle, and the drivers obliged, releasing a plume of steam into the air.
Aaron Weaver of White Pigeon and his girlfriend, Sheri Schmucker of Shipshewana, were at the controls of a 1914 Advance steam engine. They were on a date—and happy to be at an antique power show.
Weaver said he purchased the steam engine in California. He and Sheri took it apart over the winter, replaced some of the parts and gave it a fresh coat of paint.
Weaver's hands showed evidence of machine work: grease in the crevices and dirt under the fingernails. But Sheri's hands were as clean as a whistle.
"I wear gloves," she said.
When asked if this was how they spend most of their date nights, Aaron said, "If it's not like this, we're (spending) weekends in the shop."
Weaver and Schmucker were on a double date that evening. Weaver's brother,
Jeremiah, was driving another steam engine, ass-isted by his girlfriend, Brenda Yoder of Colon, Mich.
In a large grassy area, a few people were spotted riding garden tractors. They puttered along at a deliberate pace, adding to the cacophony of sounds. Inside two pole barns, vendors were hawking tractor memorabilia and toys. Outside one building, there was a sign promoting the Indiana State Corn Husking Contest on Oct. 4 in Nappanee.
Food was being sold underneath camping tents and larger canopies. The smell of kettle corn was inescapable. After buying their food, spectators hurried to the various places where they would watch the evening entertainment.
Over in a remote corner of the show grounds, children hopped in a miniature train that took them on a journey through some trees, over a creek, through a tunnel and back again. One nervous mother placed her 2-year-old son into the lap of his older brother, giving him strict instructions for how to hold the toddler.
With an uncertain look toward her husband, the mother stood back and watched helplessly as the Santa Fe Express disappeared into the gloaming. Minutes later, the train returned, containing about a dozen happy children—including the 2-year-old and his trustworthy brother.
As darkness set in, two steam engines were positioned just so in the grassy area. They lit up the night sky with sparks expelled through their respective smokestacks. The harder the engines worked, the more intense the shower of sparks.
For Aaron Weaver and Schmucker, their date night was just getting interesting. They parked their steam engine in front of the grandstand and prepared to deliver a second sparks show for those seated in the grandstands. The illuminations rose a good 30 feet into the air and could be seen from any point on the show grounds. If the tractor pull didn't sufficiently wow the crowd, the spark show certainly did.
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