SALEM - A free screening of Country Crush, a new documentary about the combine demolition derby at the Columbiana County Fair, will be held at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 1, at the Kent State-Salem City Center.
A press release issued by Western Reserve Public Media, Country Crush is the story of the wacky, weird combine demolition derby, a sport where giant old combines face off in a battle of metal-bending prowess.
Country Crush features interviews with several drivers who prepare the old combine harvesters for competition. It is the work of Molly Merryman, Kent State University associate professor in the Department of Sociology.
The program will premiere on Western Reserve PBS (WNEO 45.1/WEAO 49.1) at 9 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 7. For additional air dates and times, visit WesternReservePBS.org/schedule.htm.
Salem City Center Campus is located at 230 N. Lincoln Ave., Salem. For more information or to reserve a seat for the free screening, call Western Reserve PBS at 1-800-554-4549.
Featured combine demolition derby drivers, past and present, are: Mike Cianni, Justin Fraser, Matt Johnston, Joe McKarns, Jason Raymond, Nate Smith, Scott Smith and the late Tom Vickroy.
The Columbiana County Fair has featured a combine demolition derby - the first in Ohio - since 1992.
Even today, the county is one of only a handful of fairs to feature this sport and boosts the largest and most established competition in Ohio.
Combine demolition derby is believed to have originated as a sport in Lind, Wash., in 1988.
Combine harvesters have been used to harvest grain since their invention in 1834. While the first combines were horse-powered, self-propelled combines were developed in 1911.
The integration of increased acreage farmed by individual farmers and corporations and improved harvester technology has rendered combines that are 20 or more years old useless from an agricultural standpoint. These older machines are typically used on smaller farms, although the bulk are scrapped or discarded on agricultural property.
