Roseboom, NY, is a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it type of place if you’re not from the area (and, let’s be honest, even if you are – sometimes).
It’s the storybook image of a small village: a few picturesque homes, a general store or restaurant, a small white church, all framed against the dark blue-greens of the pines along the tree line. Is a picture starting to form?
It’s beautiful, but often a straight drive through as you make your way down Route 166 towards Cooperstown. Still, like so many places here in upstate, there’s more here than meets the eye.
This past week, hidden from the road by the aforementioned pines, a favorite event returned to the area for 2025: Roseboom Antique Power Days.
The view is remarkable, as trees give way to a wide-open field and rows of several hundred tractors, lawn tractors, antique vehicles and more stretching out before you.
This is “a nonprofit event dedicated to the restoration and preservation of the tractors and equipment of yesteryear.” The Van Buren family and their community partners and friends have been helming this beloved show since the late 1990s and it’s still very much a local tradition here in its 22nd year.
“Restored or unrestored, fresh from the field or fresh from a museum. We like them all!!” Aaron Van Buren told exhibitors on Facebook. It’s true – the show promotes a variety of equipment: “antique and classic tractors; antique trucks and cars; agricultural, domestic and industrial [equipment]; antique lawn and garden equipment.”
There’s something for everyone. You can check out demonstrations, grab a bite to eat. Support the bake sale or a local crafter or two. Don’t miss special moments like the Tractor Rodeo, the parade, the Chinese auction – or most importantly the annual Tractor Ride for Cancer fundraiser.
The show is a beautiful collision of eras – even more necessary today than it was more than 20 years ago as farmland shrinks and this particular “slice of life” begins to disappear. Older farmers reminisce from the tractor seat about all of the long hours and the blood, sweat and tears that got them to where they are and helped them build their farm and a life for their family. Their children, the farmers of today, remembering the days when they were just kids themselves riding along on the tractor, now fighting to preserve this way of life for the next generation.
Last but not least, the farmers of tomorrow – kids themselves – catching a glimpse of “the good old days” and an appreciation for hard work, steel wheels and the kickback of these engines. There’s something for the entire family to enjoy.
Check out pictures of the show field on Country Culture’s page or by searching “Roseboom Antique Power Days” on Facebook. For more information on the show, you can visit www.antiquepowerdays.org.
