As is often the case, when Ken Benner and a few local farmers tried to start a new event 40 years ago, it rained.
The group, interested in power equipment old and new, mainly tractors, were trying to create an event that would show off old steam tractors and backhoes and newer diesel-powered machines. Benner had come up with the idea after attending a similar show in Milton, and thought the July long weekend would make a great time for the debut event.
“Much to our dismay, it rained Thursday and Friday, making the back field much to wet to put a 10-ton tractor on,” he later wrote.
On Saturday, July 1, 1972, the rain clouds parted. And while the ground was muddy and the air foggy, the first Niagara Antique Power Association power display occurred.
This year marks the 40th anniversary of NAPA, a group you see throughout Niagara at museums and events like the Marshville Heritage Festival in Wainfleet and Canal Days in Port Colborne.
And for NAPA member Barb Mittlestead she’s not surprised the group has survived and thrived four decades after its creation.
“(The members) don’t lose the enthusiasm to show kids what it used to be like,” she said.
Keeping antique equipment in working order, she said, “is something that you just can’t replace.”
The main event for NAPA is the yearly power show, which still takes place over the Canada Day long weekend. It takes place at the NAPA showgrounds, 1957 Wilhelm Rd. in Sherkston.
Each year the shows features something from the old days, and this year the group is featuring one of the centrepieces of any village or town before the days of big factories and manufacturers: the blacksmith.
“Blacksmiths were the centres of most villages back then,” Mittlestead said. “It’s where most of the work got done.”
“People think they just lay steel on a fire, pound it and it turns into what you want,” she said, explaining it was a specialized craft that only few could perfect.
The show will feature NAPA’s blacksmith shop, and there will also be a number of present day blacksmiths on hand to ply their trade and show what they can do.
But that’s not all there will be to do at the show, which runs the entire weekend, from Friday, June 29 to Sunday July 1. All the classic events will be back, including the tractor pull, horse pull, Sunshine the Clown, a birds of prey show, various vendors, and musical entertainment.
New this year Randy Thomas will be performing, to join longtime NAPA power show performers the Olde Tyme Fiddlers, among the many other groups that will be performing.
The blind tractor game, which debuted last year, will also return. The game has participants climb aboard a tractor blind folder. The object is to stop the tractor as close to the finish line as possible, without going over. But don’t worry, Mittlestead said with a laugh, someone else is driving the tractor.
“It really went over big last year,” she said.
There will also be activities for the kids, including a kiddy tractor ride.
Also, to celebrate the 40 year anniversary, kids can take part in a scavenger hunt. On the showgrounds there will be artifacts and items that represent what was featured during each of the past 40 shows. Kids who can find each item and write down when it was featured, will win a prize.
Camping is available on the showgrounds for the weekend.
Gates open each day at 8 a.m. and close at 5 p.m. Admission costs $5 for adults and $2 for children under 12. Weekend passes are available, $9 for adults and $3 for children. For more information visit www.niagaraantiquepower.org
Source: www.niagarathisweek.com
5 Christie Antique Show purchasing tips - CBC
Ready, set, shop.
The Christie Antique Show takes place Saturday, an event that draws people from Hamilton and beyond. We have it listed in our 5 things to do Saturday story.
CBC Hamilton talked Julian Taylor, owner of Taylors Antiques , and he's got five simple tips on how to get the most bang for your buck at any antique show.
1. Arrive early.
"You'll get the best pick. Show up half an hour before the show opens," said Taylor.
2. Set a limit and stick to it.
Make sure you know what you're looking for. It's easy to get sucked into impulse purchases.
"It's not like you can bring it back and say I made a mistake," explained Taylor.
3. Go for a known dealer.
Taylor advised shoppers to deal with stores who are well known and reputable. That means you have the option of returning something if it isn't just right.
4. Don't be polite, ask about age.
"Ask them how old it [the antique] is and if you get a bill, have them write the date of the antique down. There's so many reproductions and fakes," said Taylor. "Legally, you can bring it back because you bought it under false pretenses."
5. Check for chips.
"Once you walk away with it, you can't come back to say it's chipped," explained Taylor.
So make sure to thoroughly inspect any China and glass.
Source: www.cbc.ca
California sport fish survey: mercury, PCBs higher - San Francisco Gate
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A sweeping state survey of contaminants in sport fish that were hooked, netted or speared in 68 spots on the California coast underscores a lesson for seafood lovers: Choose well your next fillet. In general, mercury levels in the fish - caught ...Source: www.sfgate.com
California Senate OKs buffer for cars passing cyclists - Los Angeles Times
California motorists would have to provide three feet of space between their vehicles and bicycles they pass on the road under legislation approved Friday by the state Senate.
Sen. Alan Lowenthal (D-Long Beach) said his measure is needed because the current law, requiring only that motorists pass at a "safe distance," has not adequately protected bicyclists. "This definition is vague and leaves everyone vulnerable," Lowenthal told his colleagues. "It’s time that California protect both its bicyclists and its motorists."
Collisions in which cars pass from behind are responsible for about 40% of bicycle deaths involving motor vehicles, he said. Twenty other states have a rule of at least three feet.
Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed a similar bill last year because of concern that it also required motorists to slow to 15 mph, which law enforcement felt could cause safety and traffic problems. The new bill tries to address the governor’s concern by requiring motorists to slow to a reasonable speed.
SB 1464 would allow motorists to cross a solid yellow line between traffic if it is safe to do so and necessary to give bicyclists a three-foot buffer. Drivers who pass too close would face an infraction with a $35 fine. The cost would be $233 after all court fees and surcharges are added in.
The fine would be $220 ($959 with court fees) if a collision results in bodily injury to the cyclist. The measure passed 27-6, with some Republicans in opposition, and next goes to the Assembly for consideration.
ALSO:
Jerry Brown unveils revised budget
U.S. Attorney blasts wildfire proposal
California continues courtroom push to cut costs
--Patrick McGreevy in Sacramento
Photo: A bicyclist rides alongside cars in downtown L.A. last year the day after a 63-year-old bicyclist was struck and killed by a car on a downtown street. Credit: Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times
Source: latimesblogs.latimes.com
Northern California yacht racing to resume after wreck - wina.com
By Ronnie Cohen
FAIRFAX, California (Reuters) - The Coast Guard is set to allow sailboat racing in the Pacific off northern California for the first time since five sailors died in a yacht wreck last month, but new safety rules will be in place.
Racing will resume with the Spinnaker Cup, which starts on Friday and goes from the San Francisco Bay area community of Belvedere to Monterey, the Coast Guard said.
The Coast Guard had stopped issuing permits for ocean racing while awaiting results of a U.S. Sailing Association investigation into the April 14 fatal accident in the Full Crew Farallones Race.
In that event, a large wave struck the 38-foot (11.6-meter) Low Speed Chase sailboat and swept crew members overboard as the ship rounded an island. Five people aboard the ship were killed, and three people survived.
In a separate tragedy on April 28, a sailboat on a yacht race from southern California to Mexico disappeared from a tracking system off the Mexican coastline, and the bodies of four crew members were later found in the area.
The Coast Guard was probing what led to those deaths, and had been looking at the possibility their ship hit rocks.
After the Sailing Association issued preliminary findings on the wreck, the Coast Guard and the sailing community fashioned safety changes intended to prevent a similar accident.
Under the changes, boats must maintain a safe distance from the rocky Farallon Islands, said Coast Guard spokesman Michael Lutz.
The permit for the Spinnaker Cup race also includes new measures for race organizers and the Coast Guard to coordinate and account for participating sailors, Lutz said. In addition, it includes a random post-race boat inspection to ensure minimum safety requirements were met, he said.
"The Coast Guard appreciates the tremendous support of the offshore race organizers and sponsoring yacht clubs during this safety stand-down," said Coast Guard Captain Cynthia Stowe, who is based in San Francisco.
(Editing by Alex Dobuzinskis and Lisa Shumaker)
Source: www.wina.com
California's Coronado named best beach - Omaha World-Herald
CORONADO, Calif. (AP) — Like a Hollywood star, Coronado’s 1.5 mile-long beach literally sparkles, thanks to the mineral mica glinting in its sand.
That’s one of the reasons why Coronado — flanked by the iconic hotel featured in Marilyn Monroe’s 1958 film “Some Like It Hot” — has been named the No. 1 beach in the United States in the 2012 survey by “Dr. Beach” professor Stephen Leatherman of Florida International University.
It is the first time “Dr. Beach” has given the top slot to California in the more than two decades that he has been ranking beaches in the United States based on their
environmental quality and safety for swimmers.
Coronado Beach, on a peninsula across the bay from San Diego, has near-perfect Mediterranean weather and a postcard backdrop.
“I think it’s one of the most super beaches around,” said Leatherman, director of FIU’s Laboratory for Coastal Research.
Rounding out the top 10 this year: No. 2, Kahanamoku Beach in Waikiki, Honolulu, Hawaii; No. 3, Main Beach, East Hampton, N.Y.; No. 4, St. George Island State Park, Florida Panhandle; No. 5, Hamoa Beach, Maui, Hawaii; No. 6, Coast Guard Beach, Cape Cod, Mass.; No. 7, Waimanalo Bay Beach Park, Oahu, Hawaii; No. 8, Cape Florida State Park near Miami.; No. 9, Beachwalker Park, Kiawah Island, S.C.; and No. 10, Cape Hatteras in North Carolina.
Leatherman ranks beaches on 50 criteria, including the look and feel of the sand, water quality, weather, facilities and crowds. A top score is 250. Coronado came in the 230s, losing points because its water temperature hovering in the 60s allows for only a quick dip for most, Leatherman said. California’s chilly coastal waters have cost its pristine beaches points when they’ve been up against balmy contenders in Florida and Hawaii in the past.
Coronado Beach was runner-up last year to Florida’s Siesta Beach. Once a beach tops Leatherman’s list, it is retired from consideration for future rankings.
A No. 1 spot on the popular list typically brings a 15-to-20-percent boost in visitors.
Leatherman said Coronado is great for skim boarding (gliding on the water with a small, finless surfboard) and walking. The wide, flat beach is lined by majestic mansions and the Hotel del Coronado. Known as “Hotel Del,” the National Historic Landmark with its peaked red roof was built in 1888 and is the last of California’s Victorian seaside resorts.
Coronado is also the name of the swanky-yet-quaint city on a peninsula populated by Navy officers and some of California’s wealthiest. It can be reached by ferry boat for a few dollars from downtown San Diego.
There is free parking at the beach but it is on a public street so it can be challenging, Leatherman said.
The top 10 list is in its 22nd year.
Beaches do not pay to be evaluated for the top 10 best beaches list. Leatherman said he visits top 10 candidates incognito to collect sand and water samples for study.
Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Source: www.omaha.com
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