HAVERHILL – Behind the pulling arena and beyond the collection of John Deere equipment yesterday at the North Haverhill Fair was a square patch of tall grass waiting to be cut down by a small army of adults and children eager for a chance to show their mettle in the art of hand mowing.

Long before someone had the foresight to invent the weed wacker and lawn mower, it was the sharp, wicked blade of a scythe that conquered the grasses in many a field and meadow.

And while mechanized equipment has replaced tradition, yesterday morning's hand mowing competition showed, between the contestants and spectators, that the old way is as fun and relaxing as it is intriguing.

"This is what I call the revival of the skills of 100 to 200 years ago," said emcee Steve Taylor, a Plainfield farmer and the former longtime New Hampshire Commissioner of Agriculture, "where virtually all the hay that was harvested, was harvested by hand ... the mowing machine was not invented in a way to cut hay until after the Civil War."

More than a dozen people, from children to men in their 70s, showed up at the fair yesterday to take part in the competition, wielding sharp blades and stories. Some, like Walter Terhune of Hardwick, Vt., were practiced in the art.

Some were beginners, like Jim Peterson, who is settled in Woodsville by way of Detroit.

"We just moved to Woodsville to a farm and it has an overgrown meadow that's full of weeds," he said. "I don't want to commit to a tractor and all that machinery, so I guess I innocently thought I would take a scythe and do it."

It took some looking around to find a scythe, and he ended up ordering one at Fogg's Hardware in Woodsville.

"They had to order me one and I was a little anxious about waiting a couple of weeks because the weeds were growing very, very fast. I found that it was quite difficult and awesome exercise. You can do it for 20 minutes and be completely exhausted. It's very cool."

Since he's put the scythe to work, he hasn't had to work out at a gym.

Don Elder of Lyme came to the competition with his hay scythe, which is light weight and has a very long blade. He still uses it to mow a part of his property, almost preferring it to his weed wacker.

Click below to view Union Leader correspondent Lorna Colquhoun's video of the scythe contest:

The hand mowing contest brings back the art to the Granite State. Up until the 1980s, Taylor said, the Sullivan County Dairy Herd Improvement Association used to have an annual contest at its picnic.

"Points were deducted for spitting tobacco juice and cursing at the judges," he said.

Yesterday's event, organized by Tony Morse of Swiftwater, was a bit more serious. No one was swearing and there was no tobacco anyway, but contestants were judged in regard to the time it took to mow the designated swath, with time adjustments for the neatness of the stubble.

Spectators watched with interest and beyond the hum of a quiet conversation, there was simply a rhythmic swish of blade against grass.

"It's very relaxing," Elder said. "It makes a real difference, that swishing sound."

Although he has the rhythm and a collection of scythes, this was Elder's first competition. Looking around at the other competitors, he grinned a bit.

"Maybe I'm not so old fashioned after all," he said.