Reliving the past: Antique farming equipment on display in Bend

'They’re kind of a ghost from a time past,' Michael Lockling says

BEND, Ore (KTVZ) --As a way to preserve and bring history alive, the Early Day Gas Engine and Tractor Association club in Central Oregon collects a variety of old engines, tractors and antiques once used in daily life, and does what it needs to get or keep them up and running.

One member, Michael Lockling, hosted ‘Lockling’s Old Iron Show' in Bend Sunday to showcase many of the items and demonstrate how some work. He says the event occurs five to six times a year and is hosted by various club members.

“We’re finding old pieces that are rusty and antiquated, and nobody cares about. We’re pulling them out of the fields, and we’re getting them running and going again," Lockling said.

Lockling says he spends a chunk of his time making machines, using old antique parts.

“Back in the early days, farmers built their own tractors and implements," Lockling said. "And so each winter, I build a new machine, and I found this engine at an auction that was stuck and didn’t run, and got it going -- collected parts, made parts, and made this tractor."

He says many of the parts in the collection are picked up from all over the county, much from trading, buying and selling with different clubs.

“A lot of these guys are still taking them out of mines in Nevada, where they were left 100 years ago," Lockling said.

He talked about how special it is to take preserved parts and engines to shows, where people have never experienced the sight and sounds they offer.

“There’s a lot of people today that are alive that don’t understand what people used to have to do, to do simple things like pump water, grind grain, saw your firewood," he said. "You worked hard just to gather enough food and keep warm back then. They’re kind of a ghost from a time past.”