Thousands of spectators turned out on Saturday and Sunday for the 13th annual Greene County Antique Farm & Auto Show at the Greene County Fairgrounds.

Visitors had the opportunity to see through a number of equipment demonstrations and exhibits what life was like for East Tennessee farm families in the late 19th and 20th centuries.

Admission to the show was by donation only.

Proceeds from the annual farm show benefit various charitable organizations, including Shriners Hospitals for Children, St. Jude Childrens Hospital in Memphis, and the Southern Appalachian Ronald McDonald House in Johnson City.

Since 1997, nearly $50,000 has been donated from the farm show's proceeds to Shriners Hospitals and St. Jude Children's Hospital in Memphis, according to Debbie Cox, one of the event's organizers.

Some of the featured activities and displays included a variety of antique farm tractors, "hit-n-miss" engines, a horse-drawn hay baler and threshing machine, a mule-powered corn-shelling machine and cornmeal mill, a portable sawmill, an apple butter-making demonstration, and manual and gasoline-engine powered wringer washing machines.

Billy Darnell, of the Piney Grove Community, and his friend Mike Butcher were busy of Saturday and Sunday demonstrating the antique corn-shelling machine and cornmeal mill with the help of Darnell's mule, Jake.

As Jake walked a circular path while hitched to a turnstile, his motion turned a drive shaft that powered the "Lightning" double-ear corn-shelling machine and the W.C. Meadows cornmeal mill that Darnell and Butcher had set up beneath a canopy.

Darnell said he found the antique corn-shelling machine, which he said was manufactured between 1850 and 1900, in Cocke County several years ago.

The cornmeal mill, which converted the corn shelled from the cob by the corn-shelling machine, into finely ground cornmeal, dates from about 1920, Darnell said.

He noted that he had had to extensively refurbish the cornmeal mill, which had been originally manufactured by the W.C. Meadows Company of North Wilkesboro, N.C., for the International Harvester Company.

A craft show and sale featuring works from about 25 participating crafters also was in operation in the Expo building.

A large number quilts and other crafts were on exhibit.

Members of the United Methodist Men from Mount Zion United Methodist were busy on Saturday afternoon making apple butter beneath a large canopy on the fairgrounds.

Church member Joe Kilday said the group has been making apple butter for decades as a fund-raising project.

As Kilday spoke, fellow church members constantly stirred the apple butter that was being slowly cooked over propane fires in two large kettles.

"We'll have an assembly line later," Kilday said, noting that the men's group would pour the finished apple butter into jars, then label and seal the jars for later sale.

The group had begun making apple butter on Friday afternoon and expected to produce about 500 pints over the weekend.

Among the crafters hard at work were a group of four woodcarvers who have been carving duck decoys for the last five years.

Bonnie Collins, her husband Freddie, and their friends Walter Armstrong and Bill Teilmann were busy turning blocks of bass wood into colorful, and life-like duck decoys as visitors watched.

Mrs. Collins said the group meets one night per week to working on their individual duck-decoy projects.

She noted that the bodies of the decoys are hollowed out and fitted with a weighted keel.

In competition, she noted, the decoys must right themselves and float naturally when tossed into a body of water.

Another crafter who was busy demonstrating his skill on Saturday when a Sun reporter visited the Expo building at the fair was Jimmy Rader, of Stone Dam Road.

Rader was busy carving a wooden dough bowl when the reporter stopped by his display of turned and carved wooden items.

Dressed in early 19th century fashion, Rader said he loves to take part in events at Davy Crockett Birthplace State Park as well as Civil War re-enactments.

On Saturday, Rader was using a hatchet-like device that he said was called a bowl awl to shape a slab of buckeye wood into the rough outline of a dough bowl.

He noted that many of the other items in his display had been made using a wood lathe.

One of the more unique items Rader had on display was a "reversible" cake plate that he said doubled as both a glass-domed cake plate and a punch bowl.

Also displaying their items Saturday and Sunday were the mother-daughter quilting team of Violet and Marla McLain, of Afton.

When a reporter stopped by their booth, the McLain's were eating lunch in front of a large "Elvis" quilt that had been hung from the building's wall.

The McLains said the quilt featured images of Elvis Presley from his movies "Blue Hawaii" and "Jail House Rock."

Another quilt on display beside the Elvis quilt featured multiple images of an overall-clad "farmer boy," complete with tiny tools in his back pocket.

The McLains said they have produced some 770 "baby quilts" over the years. Violet McLain said she had "lost count" of the number of full-size quilts she and her daughter have completed since taking up the hobby in 1979.

Outside the Expo building, rows of antique farm tractors, with brand names like John Deere, Ford, Case and Farmall were lined up for inspection by spectators.

Among those moving down the line of tractors with interest on Saturday were Jeremy Utsman and his son, Will, 5, of the Camp Creek community.

Jeremy Utsman said Will is fascinated by tractors and has amassed a sizable collection of miniature tractors.

"They're his favorite thing," Jeremy Utsman said of Will and tractors.

Another youngster enjoying the lineup of antique tractors on Saturday was Jacob Carberry, 5, of Jonesborough.

Jacob, who had shed his John Deere boots and socks, was giggling while perched on the seat of an antique Farmall "Cub" tractor owned by his grandfather Freddie Carberry.

Larry Carberry, Jacob's father, said the Carberry family is in the process of renovating a Farmall tractors for each of Freddie Carberry's grandchildren.

He noted that Jacob loves to help his father and grandfather in the garage with the tractor renovation projects.

"He comes out of there with grease all over his face," Larry Carberry said of his son.

On Friday, fourth-grade students from Camp Creek and Ottway Elementary Schools took part in Kids Education Day activities associated with the Greene County Antique Farm and Auto Show.

The 83 elementary school children heard various experts discuss the activities that farming families typically had to complete on their farms years ago.

At 1 p.m. on Friday, the fairgrounds opened to the public. The fairgrounds remained open until 6 p.m.

On Saturday, Sept. 20, the farm show began at 8 a.m. and continued until 8 p.m.

A "Parade of Power" featuring all of the antique tractors that were on display passed through the fairgrounds on Saturday afternoon.

One of Saturday's most popular events with spectators was the 3 p.m. Kiddie Pedal Tractor competition that featured pedal tractors provided by John and Sandra Taylor, of Blountville.

Also on Saturday, a variety of musical entertainment was held throughout the day at the fairgrounds GreenBank Pavilion. Gospel music was the rule of the day on Sunday.

The Saturday musical acts included the Hagerman Brothers, Frank and Francis, who played and sang country music. Frank played guitar and sang lead vocals while Francis played four-string tenor banjo and sang harmony.

Also drawing a large crowd of spectators were the "Fabulous 50s," a group that lip-syncs to recordings of popular music.

Group members portrayed popular musical entertainers, including Elvis Presley and Sonny and Cher.

At 5 p.m. on Saturday, an antique tractor pull was held at the fairgrounds' Jim Saulsbury Arena.

On Sunday, Sept. 21, the final day of the farm show, the gates opened at 10 a.m. and a church service was held at 11 a.m.

Various activities and demonstrations, including a repeat of the antique tractor "Parade of Power," continue throughout the afternoon until the gates closed at 5 p.m.