ROCK STAR

The antique rock crusher at the Midwest Old Threshers Reunion has been a people pleaser for 40 years, drawing steady crowds to watch and learn as the machine clanks and churns, turning limestone boulders into gravel.

With several demonstrations held daily during the annual reunion, which takes place in Mount Pleasant, Iowa, over a five-day stretch ending on Labor Day, volunteers Fred Fleming and Mike Dietze work like a well-oiled machine, tossing limestone into the rock crusher.

The two men, both from the Lincoln, Nebraska, area, have been attending the reunion since 1982. They typically arrive at the reunion grounds about a week early to help set up the stationary gas engine area. Part of that involves helping