The Big Dig - Cloud County Tourism

Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, I had the great pleasure of attending The Big Dig on Saturday, August 28, at the Kurt Kocher Farm. I’d like to congratulate the entire community for their efforts in making this happen. Clearly, it took an enormous amount of work to figure out everything from logistics at the farm site to arranging for food and water. Several things struck me that made this event far from ordinary. The first thing was that Kurt Kocher allowed his farm ground to be used for this. Thanks to him, we all experienced an unforgettable environment for observing historical equipment at work. It must have taken a herculean effort to get the historic equipment (from all over the U.S.) down an unpaved road to this rural location, and then to figure out the perfect space for it to be displayed or demonstrated. There were no computers to help solve a mechanical problem with this old equipment and no doubt there were issues over the weekend. But the guys at this event had the skills, the knowledge, and a language that allowed the art form of fixing these antique machines to take place. What cannot be known is the impact this event made on each attendee. I thought of those who had probably never smelled that aroma of turned over ground when the soil goes from a crusted surface to a deep rich crumbly aerated texture. To get close to machines at work, to feel their power, and to see the transformation of the earth was likely a revelation for many. I’m also now on a campaign to recommend that every community put in place a giant sand pile like the one at the Big Dig. Kids were in nirvana as they played with trucks and sand on the best playground ever. Brad, Jerry, Dane, Susie, Marian, Dennis, Barbara and many, many others, you should be so proud of how you educated all of us. Thanks to you all.

Marci Penner Kansas Sampler Foundation, Executive Director
978 Arpaho Rd Inman, KS 67546

This was in the Concordia Blade Empire Concordia, Kansas Sept 3, 2021

Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, I would like to express my delight in the enthusiasm the whole city of Concordia expressed in support of The Big Dig and to the exhibitors and visitors that came. Our first stop when we arrived Thursday was the Wall Mural where Marian gave a tour and presentation to us and a fellow HCEA member from Michigan. She said Concordia was going to give “us” a big Kansas welcome. And she wasn’t kidding. Every museum, store, restaurant, our hotel, went out of their way to show us a good time. They would ask if we were here for The Big Dig and where we were from and then chat us up. Then Saturday night the Cloud County Tourism hosted a delicious banquet of smoked pork chops and sides. This topped off by Marci Penner giving us her perspective of what The Big Dig and Prairie Plowing Days meant to an outsider of the hobby. What a great time. Walking thru town, store fronts would have a Big Dig welcome sign. And inside there would be Big Dig and Concordia visitor information. A big thank you to Kurt Kocher, Brad Smith, Dane Barclay, Susie Haver, Marian Condray, Barbara Shunn and the people of Concordia who made The Big Dig and Prairie Plowing Days an event not to be forgotten.

Sincerely, Jeff Fildes HCEA Life Member

This was in the Concordia Blade Empire Concordia, KS September17, 2021

Prairie Plowing Days – The Big Dig held on August 27-29, 2021!

The Historical Construction Equipment Association International Convention and Old Equipment Exposition 35th Annual The Big Dig, hosted by Prairie Plowing Days, Concordia KS. Concordia KS was honored to host this one time event. HCEA is from Bowling Green, Ohio and decides where the event will be held annually.

The show featured dirt moving equipment; working scrapers, haul trucks, shovels, cranes-both drag-line and Clam shell buckets, steam traction engines, prairie tractors, pull graders, motor graders, elevating grader, dozers, and wheel loaders. The experience took the viewer back in time to the 1950’s within a major highway construction project. The Big Dig showcased every type of equipment that would have been working on that job including a rock crushing plant, a “Bin-A -Batch ready mix plant from the 1950’s as well as a host of other sites.

The show also featured a variety of static displays, cars, trucks, old crawlers and wheeled tractors, as well as vendors on site. Additionally, there were steam and prairie tractor plowing demonstration