Threshing Bee back at Palouse Empire Fairgrounds

COLFAX - The fair is just around the corner and another year of the annual Palouse Empire Threshing Bee is in the books, leaving a harvested field for trailers to park during fair festivities.

Horses and teamsters gathered to bring history to the fairgrounds, Sunday, Sept. 1, as a crowd of people gathered around to watch.

Palouse Threshing Bee Association Secretary Jessica Erickson said despite the heat, the morning harvest went well, with all their equipment working.

"We got rained out last year," she said, noting it was the first year they experienced rain.

Erickson said the crowd was a little smaller Sunday morning since they moved it to Sunday instead of Labor Day, but was expecting more people after church.

People from different areas come every year to help with the historical Threshing Bee.

Erickson said that many come from the Pendleton area and John Overmyer who was driving the header was from Davenport.

Other drivers from the Davenport area were Mark and Techla Speed, who Erickson said bring a lot of their draft horses and help in the spring.

Driving one of the wagons to harvest the wheat was Gary Ulrich of the Lewiston and Clarkston area.

Erickson said she has participated for her whole life, being the daughter of former Threshing Bee President Stan Riebold, who participates every year.

"We sell the wheat locally and that's how our association stays going," said Erickson.

Stan Riebold, 73, now resides in Winona, but has been part of the association from the beginning.

Originally residing in Colfax, Riebold said they come down every year to participate in fair festivities.

"We've had a rough start," said Riebold, in regard to the start of the Threshing Bee, noting they were not able to put out the steam engine for the first part of the harvest.

"We're running the tractor otherwise," he said. "It's running great."

Coming back from California, Anker and Sandy Evans, formerly of St. John, try to make it every year for the Threshing Bee and fair.

"It was my first year," said Jaxon Gihle, 12, who could be seen shoveling hay into the threshing machine. "It was fun."

The crowd brought a mixture of surrounding area residents, including Ann Rustad, of Lewiston.

Rustad said she and her husband just moved to the area from Anchorage, Alaska, where they attended several similar events.

"I've been to other ones, but they didn't use horses they used tractors," she said, noting the Palouse Threshing Bee was the second largest in the area they have seen with so many people in attendance.

"My husband is a big tractor, farm boy," she said. "He's looking at all the things in this area."

"We appreciate everyone coming out," Erickson said. "We have a lot of helpers who volunteer their time."

Erickson said the current Threshing Bee President is Eric Reiber and Vice President is Mike Schwartz.