Farmers from throughout Lewis County came to Ethel last weekend with their prized classic tractors for the second annual Olsen Field Progress Days festival.
Throughout the weekend, the normally quiet White Pass Scenic Byway community of Ethel was filled with the sounds of tractor pulls, steam threshers being fired up and antique hit and miss engines, and attendees also were able to shop in a swap meet featuring local food, antique and artisan craft vendors.
The event was started by property owner Ken Olsen, who wanted to keep this kind of event going in the region after the longstanding Cowlitz Prairie Grange Threshing Bee in Toledo — which first started in 1964, according to previous reporting by The Chronicle — ended just prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Threshing Bee ended after the property owners where the event used to be held did not renew the lease with the Cowlitz Prairie Grange for the land the Threshing Bee was held on.
Olsen added the event couldn’t have been held without the help of ABATE of Washington Lewis County Chapter, who helped organize it and also brought a beer tap trailer for Olsen Field Progress Days’ beer garden.
ABATE — which stands for A Brotherhood Against Totalitarian Enactments — of Washington is a nonprofit organization that advocates for freedom of the road by fighting anti-bike regulations and promoting fair motorcycle legislation according to its website.
The Lewis County Chapter also holds fundraisers for scholarships which go towards students in the county seeking trade school education. To learn more, visit https://www.abate-wa.org/.
