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Generations of Volunteers Keep Midwest Old Threshers Rolling
From 92-year-old carousel ticket seller Norma White to fifth-grader Jack Donnolly on the ground trains, the reunion depends on neighbors who give their time
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MT. PLEASANT — The steam-powered carousel spins on the midway as Norma White counts another ticket. Across the grounds, the trains chug along as Jack Donnolly hops aboard to help. Between them — one 92 years old, the other just 11 — lies the story of how the Midwest Old Threshers Reunion in Mt. Pleasant survives: through volunteers of every age, giving what they can.
At the carousel, 92-year-old Norma White of Ainsworth smiles as she sells tickets for the 27th year in a row.
“It’s really good to see. The little kids love to ride the ponies,” she said. “And actually, we’ve had people on there in their 90s. I’m 92, but there was a lady that was 96 that rode, and then we also have babies.”
Fifth-grader Jack Donnolly of Mt. Pleasant pulls shifts on the ground trains. Even as a young volunteer, he already has a few years under his belt. When asked about his favorite part, he didn’t hesitate: “Probably volunteering.”
Although, he enjoys all that Midwest Old Threshers offers each Labor Day weekend, especially hanging out with his friends around the campground.
Together, White and Donnolly capture the span of generations that keep the Midwest Old Threshers Reunion alive — a living thread connecting the oldest and youngest volunteers on the grounds.
“Midwest Old Threshers runs on volunteers. We can’t do it without them,” said Midwest Old Threshers CEO Terry McWilliams, who presented this year’s volunteer awards.
“We record over usually 1,400 different people that provide hours for this association in a year’s time,” he said. “This could not happen without volunteers. On behalf of myself, my board of directors and my staff, from the bottom of our hearts, a big thank you to all volunteers.”
For longtime volunteer Dick Curry, much like Norma, that commitment adds up to decades. The Moline resident and John Deere retiree marked 48 years with the ground trains this summer. Friends organized a surprise celebration when he thought he was simply reporting for another shift as a conductor on the ground train. Instead, his wife, family, and fellow volunteers greeted him with a cake, lemonade, and a John Deere hat.
In the Log Village, another familiar face received recognition. Larry Graber, who has brought Dexter cattle displays to Old Threshers for more than 20 years, was honored with a framed certificate thanking him for “many years of hard work and selfless dedication to the Dexter breed.”
His efforts, organizers noted, have raised awareness of Dexter cattle across the Midwest and given countless visitors a glimpse of farm life as it once was.
Some tributes were quieter, but no less meaningful. A new memorial bench now sits in the stationary steam engine building in honor of the late Tim Frame, who spent more than 55 years attending and volunteering at Old Threshers. Tim loved the reunion, and his absence this year was deeply felt.
His wife, Debra, returned to carry on his work.
“I’m here volunteering,” she said, “planning on taking care of the little miniature engine bench again, with a little help from my friends. I’m no substitute for Tim, but I know Tim would [have wanted] me to help out if I could.”
Everywhere at Old Threshers, stories like these pile up: decades of service, surprise celebrations, awards handed out under the big tent, and quiet work done behind the scenes. But all of them come back to the same truth. The reunion exists because people show up to give their time — whether that means a 92-year-old at the carousel, a fifth-grader on the ground trains, or thousands of others somewhere in between.
Norma White has lived through enough reunions to see generations come and go, but she still lights up when she talks about the families who step aboard her carousel.
And for Jack Donnolly, the reunion already feels just as natural as summer itself.
The 75th Midwest Old Threshers Reunion showed once again that tradition endures because of neighbors, families, and friends willing to lend their time — and because, from Norma White to Jack Donnolly, every generation is already carrying it forward.
Comments: AnnaMarie.Kruse@southeastiowaunion.com
