Ramsdens winding up for their annual tractor show

Tractors, engines and all sorts of things that whir and pop, smoke and hop, will be flocking to Johnson Lane for the 11th annual Antique Tractor Show.

Bill Ramsden is expecting tractors from all over the Western United States to start turning up Thursday for the annual event at their Heybourne Road property.

Members of the Early Day Gas Tractor and Gas Engine Association help the Ramsdens put on the show on their 10-acre property at 2838 Heybourne Road, off Stephanie Way. Carson Valley Sertoma has the food concession for the event that sees an attendance of about 3,500 people. That's about 10 people for every exhibit in the show. Bill said they've never had fewer than 350 different exhibits. While many are tractors, there are also all sorts of pumps and gadgets operated off internal combustion engines.

Bill's proudest of the big 1920 fan designed to test the horsepower of engines.

"It has an 80-foot long belt," he said. "We have some folks who think they have really powerful small tractors and we hook them up and it really bogs them down."

I've never made it to the show in time for the big parade, but Bill said it's a show-stopper.

The parade is 11 a.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. on Sunday.

"It is well worth showing up for that," he said.

Admission to the show is $4 for those of us who are 12 or older, but free for younger children.

Half the proceeds, if there are any left over, are donated to Sertoma. The rest gets folded back into the event.

"It's a good community thing," Bill said. "We bring in about 250 people from out of town for anywhere from two to five days. A lot of them set up on Thursday and don't leave until Monday or Tuesday."

Because the show occupies a smaller space than it would if it were on a traditional fairgrounds, people can either make a quick hit, having a look around and then move on, or hang out and enjoy the events, such as the parades and the tractor pulls.

"The people who participate all like the area and like that it's not on something like a public fairgrounds," Bill said.

The show is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday.

Ramsden owns Central Sierra Construction when he's not working on the tractor show.

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I'm not sure how I feel about the note I got from local magazine publisher Rick Campbell about the establishment of whotohate.com.

People who want to send out an e-mail to people they have a problem with can log on and pay $5 to send an anonymous e-mail to people.

I checked on the Web site and so far most of the folks are celebrities or politicians, though there are a couple of names I didn't recognize.

"We see annoying neighbors, lawyers, car salesmen, teachers, work mates, ex-spouses-girlfriends-boyfriends, politicians, rude people, obnoxious people ... just about any wrong-doer you can think of ... to be perfect targets to receive notice that they are 'On The List,"' states founder Rick said in an e-mail announcing the service. "The only thing wrong with harboring strong negative feelings for someone, is that there is no comfortable way to let them know how you feel. Sending an anonymous e-mail, adding them to a list that will be viewed by millions of people, internationally, will put them in their place."

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Genoans are gathering 5 p.m. Friday to remember John S. Henningsen, who was one of the key figures in the "Save Historic Genoa" movement back in 2000.

The family has already had a private service for Henningsen, who lived and died in Genoa.

John S. should not be confused with Valley native John C. Henningsen, the grandson of Valley pioneer Carsten Henningsen. John C. and Virginia are fine and living in Gardnerville.

n Kurt Hildebrand is editor of The Record-Courier. Reach him at khildebrand@recordcourier and (775) 782-5121, ext. 215