Granite Threshing Bee celebrates 38th year of event

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) - The annual Granite Threshing Bee started off as a small event 38 years ago but has since grown to have thousands in attendance every year.

“We go back in history to the way they did things back in the 20s and 30s we have the wheat out here where we’ll put them in bundles and run them through the thresh machines and then we have a demonstration over here of corn shilling and we just have a lot of demonstrations going on during the 3-day event,” Organizer Al Enger said.

The demonstrations won’t be the only thing going on over the weekend as the threshing bee will also feature tractor pulls, train exhibits, and even a parade.

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Karen Hood and her husband get to lead the parade as this year’s ‘Straw Bosses.’ They won’t be the only ones from their family in the parade as their grandchildren will be driving tractors in it as well.

“They love to drive in fact last week we had our grandchildren and our great-grandchildren came over and helped clean up all of the tractors, so it’s sort of like a wonderful fever that everybody enjoys,” Straw Boss Karen Hood said.

The hood family isn’t the only one to make the Threshing Bee an annual family get-together.

“It’s just like a big family reunion and that’s the beauty of it is that generational stories are all shared and enjoyed,” Hood said.

The 38th annual Granite Threshing Bee runs July 15-17. For more information click here.

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