Lots to see, hear at machinery show

KENT — Steam trains, tractors and engines were out in force at the Connecticut Antique Machinery Association (CAMA) in Kent on Saturday, April 30. It was a sunny spring day, perfect weather for excited families and antique machinery enthusiasts to mingle and share stories, and take rides on some of the working machines. Saturday was CAMA’s 27th annual Spring Power-up, the first day of the year when association members start their machines after their winter dormancy. “The Spring Power-up gives us a chance to introduce the public to what CAMA is all about,” said organization President John Pawloski, who spent the day chatting with visitors at the mining museum on the property. “It’s a lot of fun for us. The volunteers have been spending weeks cleaning and getting ready for visitation season.”The Power-up is a minor fundraiser for the organization, as it is smaller than the main event of the year: the annual Fall Festival.“This year’s Power-up is bigger than I’ve ever seen,” Pawloski commented.Center of interest was a recently completed sawmill, powered by an antique steam-powered tractor that drives a belt that runs the saw. CAMA is also celebrating the official purchase of the Hawaii Number 5 steam locomotive. The train has been on loan to CAMA for the past 10 years, but the association finally purchased it when its owner decided to sell it in December 2010.There were new displays in CAMA’s mining museum. New display cases are filled with minerals found in Connecticut, many of which were either owned or mined by Pawloski.Directly across from the mining museum is the blacksmith shop, where demonstrations went on all day, and the industrial hall, which houses the largest collection of operational steam engines in Connecticut. “This is the technology thatmade America great,” Pawloski said, with pride.