What does fall smell like?
Saturday and Sunday it smelled like horses.
Leather.
Sweat.
Corn.
And if you were one of the dozens who showed up to help with the harvest at Frank and Debbie Bradt’s Ice Cave Road farm, it was a great smell.
For years, the Bradts have hosted the Eastern Regional Draft Horse Association for, in the spring, corn planting, and in the fall, harvest.
Saturday and Sunday was no different as horse and farming fans of all ages turned out to watch—and help—as dozens of teams made it look easy.
Volunteers waits for the draft teams to lay the corn down, they walked the Bradts’ field to stack in on the wagons.
Once filled, the wagons were driven to the silo for unloading and chopping; once emptied, there was plenty of room for rides back across the street to do it all again.
Few farmers harvest corn like this anymore; for those who can still remember when they did, the event was a special treat.
“It brings back a lot of memories,” said one self-professed oldtimer.
“It’s faster now, but we had more fun then.”