Steam and Antique Shows

Steam engines from the turn of the century puffed there way around the prairies. No one in charge of the 75th Anniversary history book knew who was in this picture or when it was taken, only that it was on a farm around Ricketts.

Ricketts was known for decades for their famous Steam & Antique shows every summer. Missing the old iron plow horses? Here are a couple of links to help you get back into an old hobby:

Hans Schlosser is an ornamental blacksmith or gatesmith working on all sizes of wrought iron ornamental gates and railings and other items. He's also a mechanic and for those of you who just have to ask, yes he's a trained farrier with a preference for heavy draft horses. Gates and decorative work are his main focus along with draft horse shoeing and manufacturing heavy duty hardware and repairing machinery used with draft horses. He has a video out called "Fire & Roses." He demonstrates his work at a number of Steam and Antique shows in Iowa, here's his website: http://www.beautifuliron.com/steam_power.htm


Steam-Era is the annual show produced by the "Ontario Steam & Antique Preservers Association" held at the Milton fairgrounds in Milton Ontario, Canada every "Labour" Day weekend. Our members are devoted to the preservation and restoration of heritage equipment and bring their painstakingly restored machinery to display and operate at Steam- Era. Here's their website: http://www.steam-era.com
(They had the coolest website when I Googled "Steam & Antique.")

Got any other steam tractor sites you'd reccomend? Let our webmeister know.

You named it WHAT?

Family portraits of some of the founding residents (and possibly name sakes). Left, the Henry Ricks family. Right, George Sciford's family.

The folks who put together the 75th Jubilee history book back in 1974 weren't sure how the town of Ricketts got it's name exactly. The Chicago Northwestern Rail Road said only that it was named for an early settler. So why isn't there anyone around here named Ricketts today? Some people think that it was just named for some guy who worked for the railroad.

Turns out it was supposed to be named "Sciford" after the family who sold the land on which the town was built, but Mr. Sciford didn't like that idea and told the town fathers to find something else.

Some say that a bachelor farmer who lived east of town is said to have been the first to have plowed up the prairie around these parts. His name was Ricketts and he died just about the time Sciford declined the honor, so they named the town for him. That would explain why there are not Ricketts families around today.

One last theory was that the Railroad had originally meant to build the depot near the farm of one Henry Ricks (later changed to Rix). They instead built it a mile West but somehow his name sort of became the towns name.

Whatever the reason, they're stuck with it now. One nice thing is that even though nobody named Ricketts lives here, back in 1999 as part of the town's centennial people with the last name of Ricketts from all over the United States held their first NATIONAL family reunion. All kinds of folks, presumably at least vaguely related came from all over and made friends here in "the middle of nowhere."