Old Threshers 2021 a ‘joyous’ experience

For years now, the Midwest Old Threshers Reunion has been a major staple for the town of Mt. Pleasant.

Every year, 30,000 to 40,000 people converge on the Midwest Old Threshers grounds.

This year, just under 35,000 people attended the event, according reunion officials.

In the years, 2016, 2017, and 2018 the turnouts were anywhere from 32,000 to 35,000. The largest turnout still is 2019, where more than 36,000 people came to the event.

Midwest Old Threshers CEO Terry McWilliams said that after missing the reunion in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic people were ready to get back and see their friends they might only see once a year.

“For a lot of folks it’s like anything they missed out on in 2020 with COVID affecting them,” McWilliams said. “Seeing family members, getting together and having fun they got to do here. So Old Threshers Reunion is a reunion for a lot of folks. A lot of these folks only see these friends at this time of the year. After not seeing them for two plus years makes the experience more joyous.”

“In 2020, there was no hugging going on, but there was a lot of hugging and handshaking going on at this Old Threshers Reunion,” McWilliams said.

The expectations before the reunion were for a good turnout, McWilliams said.

People were buying a lot of five-day passes, which saw a $5 price increase this year. It’s normal for sales to go down when there’s an increase in pass prices, but the decrease this year was minimal. Camping reservations were exceptional. Tickets to the performances on the KILJ stage were sold out by the time they arrived at the grounds.

McWilliams said the director’s staff can set up the perfect reunion, but one factor stands out above all others.

“I tell everybody, we can put together the best reunion as a staff, board of directors and myself,” McWilliams said. “At the end of the day, there’s one key player, that's Mother Nature. She controls everything we do, just like Friday she decided to make it rain for five or six hours. Friday’s attendance dropped. Luckily this year temperature-wise she was nice to us.”

Much of Old Threshers is run by volunteers. It’s the hundreds of volunteers that make the reunion run as smoothly as it does.

“We had a lot of people step up and volunteer, and we greatly appreciate it,” McWilliams said. “We couldn’t do it with them.”

Comments: (319) 931-3393; hunter.moeller@southeastiowaunion.com