CEDAR FALLS - Roger Koob is sending out an S.O.S.

The 44th annual Old Time Power Show is three weeks away, and Antique Acres isn't even close to being ready for the event.

In a normal year it can take weeks to prepare the grounds for the weekend show. This year, the work is exponentially greater because volunteers face the task of removing silt and sludge from buildings on the property.

"It's incomprehensible. We've got three weeks until the show, and we haven't even touched this building yet," Koob said. "All this stuff has to come out and be power washed and bleached."

Almost all of Antique Acres, 7610 Waverly Road, took on some water. Some buildings were hit by more than 3 feet.

Since the water receded, association members have worked tirelessly to get the grounds ready for the show, set to kick off Aug. 22. The event showcases antique tractors and steam engines and offers opportunities to use old plows, watch people fire up corn threshers or walk through the Iowa Boxcar, a museum that graces the Antique Acres grounds. The Iowa Plowing Association will have its state plowing matches at the show as well.

Though the association boasts more than 100 members, Koob said many are getting too old to work on the grounds. Only a small fraction of their group is still involved in the daily operations, and most of them work full time.

"I would just hate to see it fold up after so many years," he said.

In addition to cleaning the buildings members also were sent scrambling to round up materials that floated away when the water rushed onto the land.

"Two of them logs were out on the highway. The rest were just all over," said Darwin Beckman, an association board member. "We don't know where those two over there even came from."

Koob has promised that the show will go on, but some changes will have to be made to accommodate the super-saturated soil and acres that are holding on to several inches of water.

"That was our parking lot and primitive camping," Koob said, pointing to land still submerged. "I don't think that is going to happen this year."

The lack of parking and camping could prove problematic given that other show promoters said attendance at their events was up this year because more locals came out.

Koob said horse-drawn trolleys will be working throughout the weekend to shuttle visitors to and from their cars.

It is still too early to tell just how much the cleanup efforts will cost or if any antiques were permanently damaged.

Many of the tractors stored at Antique Acres is privately owned and some owners have yet to start the machines since the flood.

"There are a lot of one-of-a-kind pieces out here," Koob said. "It has taken a lot of work to preserve them and it will take a lot of work to clean them up. But it is worth it. All of this stuff will be running during the show, one way or another."

Contact Emily Christensen at (319) 291-1570 or emily.christensen@wcfcourier.com.