Line dancing, threshing highlight Friday evening at Schuylkill County Fair

Aug. 7—SUMMIT STATION — Country music blasted through the Schuylkill County Fairgrounds on Friday evening as many took to the grounds shuffling feet and swaying to the music.

Line dancing kicked off Country Day at the county fair that evening in front of the Ag Arena, with more than 40 people, most wearing cowboy boots taking to the pavement outside the arena. They stepped in lines and shook their feet in rhythm.

Leading them in the dance was DJ Chicken Nugget, aka Ken Bungarz, of Oley, who has provided line dancing music for just over 12 years. He said line dancing is something anyone, from young children to grandparents, can do.

"It's just step, step and go along to the song," Bungarz said. "It's the country hokey pokey."

When the dancing started at 5:30 p.m., the DJ said with the hot temperatures, dancers could either dance outside the arena or inside, although most chose to stay outside. He also encouraged them to drink water.

Some of those who participated did so for the first time at the fair.

"I'm excited, I'm doing what I love," said Kolby Roof, of Rehrersburg, before dancing.

While Joshua Boemmel, of Port Carbon, has been line dancing for six years, Friday was the first time he said he was doing so at the fair.

"It's nice," he said of line dancing in front of the arena.

Roof and Boemmel were in the front of the line facing the arena and said they like line dancing at Johnny & Hohn's in Robesonia.

Another who came to line dance was Elizabeth Leibenguth, of Orefield, who dressed in an outfit with cow prints on them. She said she likes Bungarz leading line dances as he has a good playlist.

"I can vibe with it," she said.

Also joining the dancers were Schuylkill County Fair Princess Kamryn Moran, of Pine Grove, and Fair Queen Haley Rymarkiewicz, of Pottsville. Both said the fair has been fun and they have seen more people attend than in year's past.

Just down the road from the line dancers, the Schuylkill County Agricultural Museum showed the passing public an old-fashioned way to bale hay.

Behind a yellow rope line, museum volunteers pulled bales of hay from a flatbed trailer and put them in an old-fashioned threshing machine, which separates the seeds from the stalk. The remaining straw came out the back the machine and into a wire-tied barreler, powered by a tractor, where it was compressed into a bale.

Museum President Darin Brensinger, of Orwigsburg, said the style demonstrated is from the 19th and early 20th century and said while many haven't seen threshing done in that style, it is familiar to some older individuals.

One of those individuals who did remember the style was Don Beaver, of Ringtown, who watched the demonstration with his wife, Pat Peterson. He said he used to thresh grain when he was 9 and 10 years old with his uncles in Ringtown.

"It brings back memories," he said.

Brensinger said today's threshing is done with a combine machine that collects hay and a baler that puts the bale together mechanically. However, he emphasized that it is important to preserve the past.

Matt Halabura, a museum volunteer, said the older threshing machine uses similar technology to today's machines.

The day also included wildlife presentations by Peggy Hentz, founder and director of Red Creek Wildlife Center outside Schuylkill Haven, hay bale tossing and a performance by the Amish Outlaws at the M&T Bank Stage. Hundreds watched the performance by the Lancaster-based band.

Contact the writer: clee@republicanherald.com; 570-628-6028; @Cleespot on Twitter