WAUSEON - Some adults pick motorcycles or off-road vehicles as their favorite toys.

For Jim Oxender, his choice is none other than an antique 1915 steam traction engine that stands taller than he does.

"I was just always fascinated with them as child," Mr. Oxender, of Howe, Ind., said yesterday as he prepared the massive machine for an upcoming show. "When you grow up, you get the toys you didn't have as a child."

Mr. Oxender and other enthusiasts will show off various antique equipment when the 60th annual National Threshers Association Reunion begins today at the Fulton County fairgrounds, just north of Wauseon.

The event will run through Sunday and is expected to attract more than 10,000 people to the area. Visitors will get to see a variety of activities, including tractor pulls, plowing, threshing events, and sawmills in operation.

About 50 steam engines will be at the fairgrounds, along with hundreds of gas engine tractors, an old shoe-lace production set, and a bluegrass band, among other attractions.

Debbie Newberry, secretary for the association, said a new event this year will focus on draft horses that will pull a

binder into a wheat field. The wheat later will be shocked and people will be invited to help, she said.

That unscheduled show will take place at least once, likely on Friday or Saturday, when the largest crowd is at the fairgrounds.

Machinery started arriving on site earlier this week, with many of the larger engines like Mr. Oxender's hauled in by tractor-trailer rig.

Mr. Oxender spent the afternoon cleaning and putting smaller pieces back onto his steam traction engine, which he bought a decade ago.

Earlier in the day, his engine was inspected for hours by members of the Ohio Historical Boilers Licensing Board.

His engine passed that inspection, as did he earlier when he took a written test.

The new regulations for steam engines went into effect May, 2003, in response to an explosion on July 29, 2001, at the Medina County fair. Five people died, and 48 were hit by shrapnel and soot that was propelled across the fairgrounds.

The explosion was blamed on a low water level in the boiler of an antique steam-powered tractor. The tractor's engine exploded when a gush of water hit overheated steel in the boiler.

Mr. Oxender welcomes inspections, which he experienced for the first time when he decided to come to Ohio this year.

"They did a very thorough job, which was good," he said. "I knew it was good to start with, but this is reassurance."

Contact Kim Bates at:

kimbates@theblade.com

or 419-337-7780.

First Published June 24, 2004, 10:53 a.m.