What has turned into a large festival of yesteryear, the Le Sueur County Pioneer Power Show (LSCPPS) started out as a simple passion of one man 50 years ago in 1974. It’s still the passion of one man but it is now the passion of many, many people that share it with him. That man is Dave Preuhs.
When I asked Preuhs what his current role was for the show he said, “I’m the mayor.” Everyone around him nodded in agreement. Preuhs takes care of the publicity, the website, and a lot of various things surrounding the festival now. He is the designer of all of the 48 buttons for each of the shows you will find on their limited edition puzzle made this year.
One may wonder where this drive and passion to carry on such an event for 50 years may have come from. “I’ve always been interested,” said Preuhs, “At age 10, I made a ‘museum’ in an old brooder house we weren’t using on the farm. I would ask friends if they had any old stuff they wanted to get rid of and I would take it and display it in there.”
Preuhs didn’t seek out any post-high school education but rather opted to continue on as the fourth generation farmer and take over his family farm. He married and had four kids in the next few years to follow. “I was 25 years old when I got the idea to do a threshing show. My wife, Carol, had to raise the four kids while I did this,” Preuhs said.
The first year, 1974, was done on a plot of about...
To see more on this story pick up the August 31, 2023 print edition of the Montgomery Messenger.
The man behind Le Sueur County Pioneer Power Show: Celebrating 50 years
