Farm Collector August Issue 2023

Photo courtesy of Hunter Breese from California

Recruiting for the Future

Cast

Small

Tools of Survival

When it comes to modern technology, everything is relative.

On the cover: Melinda Huisinga’s 65hp Case steam engine and her 1/2-scale 65hp replica, on display at the Midwest Old Threshers Reunion, Mount Pleasant, Iowa. Read more beginning on

of this

Photo by Leslie C. McManus.

A brave new world

Landon Hall Group Editor

Leslie C. McManus Senior Editor

Christine Stoner Associate Editor

Terry Price Art Director

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Farm Collector (ISSN 1522-3523), August 2023, Vol. 26, Issue 1. Farm Collector is published monthly by Ogden Publications Inc., 1503 SW 42nd St., Topeka, KS 66609-1265. Periodicals Postage Paid at Topeka, KS and additional mailing offices.

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Aman stopped me while I was walking through the stationary engine area at the Southern Illinois Antique Machinery show this past weekend. “This was the AI (Artificial Intelligence) of its day,” he said, gesturing at the engine displays. “Farmers were looking at these and trying to figure out how to use them.”

He was absolutely right. Can you picture the stir made by stationary engines when they arrived on the scene just before the turn of the last century? They didn’t, of course, hit the market all at once, and the technology was a work in progress. Designs were launched and abandoned with regularity as inventors conjured innovation out of thin air.

In my mind’s eye, I like to picture farmers sizing up the newfangled engines. They’d barely figured out steam engines when the next shiny thing arrived and they had to come up to speed fast. Imagine men who’d known only horse farming suddenly grappling with governors, rpms and cooling systems.

Some surely dismissed the new technology as unworkable, untested and overpriced. Today, their grandsons, wary of the future, use the same terms to dismiss the latest technology. More

than a few made loud pronouncements about letting someone else be the guinea pig.

Others were quick to adopt the new technology. Imagine going from elbow grease to something new called an engine. Imagine the range of thoughts that must have washed over farmers as they began to sense not only an answer to the relentless toil of farming, but also what must have seemed limitless possibilities.

And so it is today, when a new generation eyes the latest arrival in the parade of technology. As they begin to sense the elimination of drudgery in their lives, they are also trying to stretch their imaginations to encompass previously unimaginable possibilities.

At least some (even today!) are awash in heady optimism, much like the farmer must have been 125 years ago as he eyed a massive hulk of iron with flywheels and governors. We live in a brave new world, friends, one where the more things change, the more they don’t.

Cheers to the future!

Memories Of A Former Kid®

Leslie C. McManus LMcManus@ogdenpubs.com

Farm Collector

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Fired up about a special wagon

Kenny Walthes, Breese, Illinois, recently shared photos of a fire wagon he restored over the winter. “It was in very poor condition,” he says. “We traveled to Tennessee to pick it up and I did not think it would make it home. The metal water tank was incorrect, 75 percent of the lumber was in bad shape and the main frame runners were terribly bowed from all the weight.

“In the enclosed area in the back, there’s a dual-stage pump with a 4-1/2inch bore. Myron Hoerchler helped disassemble the pump. It was definitely a challenge as it was frozen,” Kenny says. “After we got everything cleaned and painted, he helped me completely reassemble it.” Today, the pump is in full working order and pumps water.

Beginning an Oliver adventure

Over the years, my dad has talked to me a lot about his dream tractor: an Oliver. So it only made sense for him to get me hooked on Oliver too.

In the fall of 2021, an auction was coming up with a rusty Oliver included. On that wonderful crisp fall afternoon, driving home from school, my dad told me to look out my window. And there sat my (our) beautiful rusty Oliver 1650 diesel tractor.

I started to learn to drive right away. For once, I wasn’t scared to drive a tractor. It felt natural. But it didn’t take long to figure out we had quite a few problems to fix. The brakes were bad and the fuel was thick at the bottom like honey. That’s when we found out it was our family friend’s dad’s tractor that had been sitting out for about 10 years. Things might be worse than we thought, and that point was proven on an early winter day in 2021.

We took the Oliver to my grandpa Ernie’s shop where it sits today. As I learn mechanics along the way, we’re realizing the more we monkey with it, the more money we’re sticking into it. But my grandpa tells me to keep nudging my dad to get it fixed, lest it become our Model A that I haven’t seen out of our shed in my entire 13 years of life.

My other grandpa (Grandpa Gary) and I made a deal. We signed it and everything. He paints my tractor and I rake his hay for two years. Grandpa Ernie is helping a lot too, as he tinkers with the tractor whether we’re there or not. And he knows a bunch about tractors.

I try to help as much as I can. One time I went in to visit Grandma before we left and I started looking through a copy of Farm Collector magazine. And that’s my story. I won’t mind if I don’t win because I just wanted to tell everyone who will listen to me about this. I like to draw and paint. For our science and fine arts fair, I painted a purple 1850 with a description underneath. I think I’m going to get myself an 1850 and paint it lavender one day. But now we’re off topic.

Thank you for this opportunity and for the interesting articles in the magazine. I borrow them from my grandpa after he reads them and even take them to school. When I found out the back story of the International IH symbol, I told everybody!

Shelby Erdmann, Nodine,

Kenny’s son, Otto, and Jim Taylor. At age 83, Jim hand painted the lettering on the wagon. “Truly a lost art,” Kenny says. Another friend, David Culli, helped rebuild the wagon’s wooden structure.

Editor’s note: Shelby, we’re all cheering for you and your tractor. Keep us posted on your progress! Until then, we’ll enjoy your drawing in this issue of Farm Collector!

Minnesota

Myron Hoerchler with the wagon’s pump, which he helped restore.

Kenny Walthes and friends brought this horse-drawn fire wagon back from the brink.

Photographic gems of the past

When one of my daughters had to move me from Bryan, Texas, to Houston, she came across these gems that I had not seen in years. The smaller photo shows the log cabin my maternal grandfather was born in. He told me he remembered snow coming in through the chinks. His home was near Capron, Illinois.

The larger photo was staged for some publication but was never used. It shows me on the homemade sulky used to move the hay carrier into the hay mows. Actually, I never drove this. By the time this photo was taken, I had graduated to setting the fork for the hay carrier or working the hay field. My Aunt Stella usually drove this cart. She never rode it but instead walked along the side. The two kids are my cousins Ted and Marilyn. They are about ready to take on the entry-level task of carrying back the hook end of the hay rope. This was not necessary, but it made the task of pulling back the hay carrier much easier. The men in the barn are my three uncles, Amos, Everett and Jerome.

Clyde Eide, Houston, Texas

Editor’s note: Always good to hear from you, Clyde! Thanks for sharing this wonderful glimpse into the past.

SHELBY

ERDMANN

IS OUR FEATURED ARTIST FOR AUGUST!

Shelby Erdmann, the daughter of Billie and Willie Erdmann, Nodine, Minnesota, is this month’s featured artist. Shelby will receive a Farm Collector T-shirt: Congratulations, Shelby!

Have a budding artist in your family? Send your kids’ or grandkids’ farm-related artwork to Farm Collector, and we’ll send a T-shirt to the monthly winner. Send submissions to Farm Collector, 1503 SW 42nd St., Topeka, KS 66609-1265. Please include the artist’s name, age and hometown and a recent photograph. A release form will be sent to the parents of each artist whose work is selected for publication; the release must be signed and returned to Farm Collector before the artist’s photo can be published. For more information, contact us at editor@farmcollector.com.

SHELBY ERDMANN AGE 13

WANTED:

GADGETS, GIZMOS & CONTRAPTIONS

The genius of pioneer inventors can confound us. Countless contraptions that revolutionized farming in the 19th and early 20th centuries have become contemporary curiosities, or even mysteries. Here are six sent in by readers. Do you know what they are?

Answers to the August 2023 items will appear in the October 2023 issue. Answers for new items in this issue must be received by August 4, 2023.

MYSTERY TOOLS

A. Piece measures 10-1/2 inches long; marked S

B. Tool measures about 24 inches long. The square part swivels a little. The inside of square measures about 1-1\8 inches and appears to fit a square shaft. The other end resembles a crowbar nail puller, but is straight. No identifying numbers or letters.

C. Piece measures 7 by 3 inches. Cast into the side: E Cory & Kelly, Chicago.

D. The curved part with the blade moves through the round handle and is covered with deerskin at that juncture; it measures about 3 feet long. The piece appears to be made with two kinds of wood. The blade looks to be cast or forged iron. The maker’s stamp is unclear. There is wear at the deerskin and a darkened area lower on the round part where it might have been gripped. Moving the curved stick along that radius changes the angle of the blade and what it strikes. “To me, it looks like a grubbing tool for agriculture,” says Alan Hood, Fort Worth, Texas, “but the blade is aligned, not at a right angle to the curved stick.”

E. Piece measures approximately 6 inches tall. No markings.

F. Tool measures 29 inches long with 16-inch handle and metal point.

To submit photos: Send prints

66609. Send digital images to Photos should be taken in a well-lit area against a plain background. Include dimensions and any markings on the piece. We cannot guarantee every photo will be published, nor can we respond to inquiries regarding when photos will be published. No photos will be returned. Digital photos should be sent as .jpgs at a minimum of 300 dpi.

To identify an item: Send answers (with your name and address) to Farm Collector, 1503 SW 42nd St., Topeka, KS 66609. Email responses may be sent to editor@farmcollector.com.

Answers for new items shown in this issue must be received by August 4, 2023.

C.

D.

JUNE

MYSTERY TOOLS ANSWERS TO

B. No positive identification. It could be a spur embedder used to embed wire in bee frame wax foundation, or it could be a cobbler’s tool (marking wheel or cowboy boot spur wheel). The two tools appear to be nearly identical. Identified by Duane Warner, Baldwin, Wis.; Nick Caldiero, Afton, N.Y.; Robert Scholz, Elmo, Mo.; and Ken Bolton, Fall Creek, Wis. Photo submitted by Gary Gentzel Sr., Spring Mills, Pa.

Japanese ink snap-line tool, identified by Mike Intlekofer, Bellevue, Wash. “A string is wound up on the reel using the crank handle,” he explains. “The string is fed out through a hole in the front through a sponge soaked with ink. To make a mark on a piece the user pulls the line out through the holds the line taut, pulls it up and snaps it. This nice, neat, inked straight line as a guide in sawing. The string is then rewound on the reel to prepare for the next use.

“In the picture, there seems to be a piece of yellow paper where the sponge should be. The stepped back of the device serves as the handle, and is mostly ornamental. In the U.S., the equivalent tool is the chalk snap-line. A string is drawn through a chamber containing chalk, often red or blue, which coats the string. The string is then snapped to give a clean, straight mark on the material. It is used by carpenters, roofers, siding installers, etc.”

F. No positive identification. Likely part of a store or shop display. Photo submitted by Mike Klein, Sioux City, Iowa.

E. U-Need-A Pinless Clothes Line. Photo submitted by Bob Wittersheim, Carleton, Mich.

D. Unidentified. Photo submitted by Bob Wittersheim, Carleton, Mich.

Sam Moore

FOR WANT OF A

Lowly nail kept a nation growing

For want of a nail, the shoe was lost; For want of the shoe, the horse was lost; For want of the horse, the rider was lost; For want of the rider, the message was lost; For want of the message, the battle was lost; For want of the battle, the kingdom was lost, And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.

Most of us are familiar with that little rhyme. It points out the importance of the small, insignificant things we usually take for granted.

Today, we worry about tires and the price of gas for our cars. Horseshoes and horseshoe nails never cross our minds (unless we happen to own a horse). In the first half of the 19th century, however, as more and more horses and mules were used for farming and transportation, horseshoes (and horseshoe nails) were on a lot of people’s minds.

Prior to the 1830s, horseshoes were handmade by the local blacksmith. He heated a bar of iron and hammered it, bending it around the horn of his anvil. He hammered out the calks, then grooved and punched the nail holes – all by hand. This slow and laborious process presented a challenge to an

inventive Scottish immigrant in Troy, New York.

Early spike producer

Henry Burden was born April 22, 1791, on a small farm near Dunblane on the River Forth in Scotland. The boy was a natural mechanic who tinkered with and repaired his father’s and the neighbor’s farm machinery. He studied in the evenings under a local scholar and then, when he’d learned all that worthy knew, went to Edinburgh where he continued his studies in math, drawing and engineering.

Hearing glowing stories of the opportunities in the colonies, Burden sailed

An early 1900s postcard view of Henry Burden’s water wheel that was, by that time, derelict, having been abandoned in the 1890s.

Detail from a 1914 ad for Northwestern horseshoe nails.

for America in 1819 and soon found himself working at a machine shop in Albany, New York, where it was said that “he could make a better piece of work than any man [in the] shops [and] he could strike a heavier blow with the sledge than any of [the] strikers at the forge.” While at that shop, he reportedly invented the first cultivator used in this country, although I have yet to find a patent for it.

Three years later, the Troy Iron & Nail Factory across the Hudson River from Albany hired Burden as superintendent. He invented a machine to make spikes. When the fledgling B&O Railroad began to lay flat iron rails westward from Baltimore in 1830, he designed a machine to make the rail spikes needed for the project. When H-shaped rails were adopted in 1835, Burden again came through with a machine to make the hook-headed railroad spikes necessary for the new rails.

In 1833, Burden built a twin-hull steamboat with the paddle wheel between the hulls. Named Helen after his wife, the boat ran at the then-unheardof speed of 18mph. Unfortunately, the Helen was soon wrecked when it ran into a dam on the Hudson River. Burden built at least one other improved steamboat and made plans to start a transatlantic steamship service. Those plans never amounted to anything, but supposedly the Cunard line adopted some of his ideas when that company established steamship service to Europe.

Supplier to the Union Armies

Burden apparently had long thought about a machine to make horseshoes. In 1835, he patented such a device.

He continued to improve the machine, which took a red-hot iron bar and cut off a correct length before a series of dies pressed the bar into shape, thinning the inner edge and pinching and thickening the heels, while forming the grooves and punching the nail holes. Henry began to manufacture horseshoes at his shop, which was capable of turning out 60 finished horseshoes every minute.

At the start of the American Civil War, Henry Burden & Sons (Burden had bought and renamed the Troy Iron & Nail Factory in 1848) was in a position to supply Union Armies with millions of horseshoes. It has been written that, without Henry Burden & Sons, the Northern Armies would have been unable to mount the several large-scale invasions of the South that eventually resulted in a Union victory.

Nineteenth century armies were highly mobile. Although the infantry still mostly traveled on the old reliable “shank’s mare,” thousands and thousands of horses and mules were required by armies of both sides. These animals carried the vital cavalry and scouts, without which the commanding generals would have been blind, as well as most of the field grade and general officers. The essential field guns of the artillery, which caused so much death and destruction, were moved by horse power. Then there were the thousands of wagons that carried the food, tents, forage, ammunition and all other supplies needed by a military force in the field.

A couple of stories from the war point out the importance horseshoes

had on the fortunes of the opposing armies. Any time Union soldiers were operating in enemy territory, they were instructed to find and destroy Southern blacksmith shops, and confiscate or destroy the precious anvils and horseshoe nails. The Confederates, on the other hand, devised an apparently unsuccessful plot to infiltrate the Burden factory and steal the design for the horseshoe machine.

Inspiration for the Ferris wheel

Burden built an immense water wheel in 1851 to power his factory, which had previously been run by five smaller wheels that proved inadequate. The overshot wheel was 60 feet in diameter, 22 feet wide and produced 1,200hp. Constructed of iron, except for the wooden outer rim and buckets, the wheel had a total of 264 2-inch iron spokes in tension, similar to a bicycle wheel.

George Washington Ferris was a student at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy and reportedly visited the Burden factory. Some people believe Ferris got his idea for the Ferris wheel (which he invented in 1893) from Burden’s water wheel.

After Burden’s death in 1871, his descendants ran the firm (later called the Burden Iron Co.) until 1940, when it was sold to Republic Steel. The plant was shut down in 1968, but the fancy office building is still in use as headquarters of the Hudson-Mohawk Industrial Gateway. If I ever get to Troy, I plan to look it up. FC

Right: Patent drawing of Henry Burden’s improved horseshoe machine of 1843.

Sam Moore is a longtime Farm Collector columnist. This column originally appeared in the October 2007 issue.

Right: Detail from a 1914 ad for United States horseshoes.

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Cast

A BRIEF HISTORY OF FOUR-WHEEL DRIVE

SLOW BUT STEADY EVOLUTION OF TECHNOLOGY DELIVERED BENEFITS TO MECHANIZED AGRICULTURE

By Robert N. Pripps

Some people believe that Jeep invented four-wheel drive. Not so, not by a long shot! According to the online encyclopedia Wikipedia, English inventor

Bramah Joseph Diplock patented a four-wheel drive steam-powered traction engine in 1893. Diplock’s patent also featured four-wheel steering and front, back and center differentials. It was subsequently built and proved functional.

The world’s first four-wheel drive vehicle directly powered by an internalcombustion engine was the Dutchbuilt Spyker of 1903. The 60hp two-seat sports car featured permanent fourwheel drive and was also the first car with four-wheel brakes.

American designs for four-wheel drive first came from Twyford Motor Car Co., producer of a one-seat Twyford roadster beginning in 1904. Because Twyford Roadsters sold for about $1,000, compared to Henry Ford’s Model T, which was priced at $250, only five or six

were produced and the company soon folded. The four-wheel drive Michigan was built in Kalamazoo, Michigan, by Michigan Automobile Co., Ltd., from 1903-’07.

Innovating with constant velocity

The first four-wheel drive vehicle to go into mass production was built by Four Wheel Drive Auto Co. (known alternately as Four Wheel Drive or FWD). The company was founded in 1909 in Clintonville, Wisconsin, as Badger

Zachow and Besserdich developed and built their first successful fourwheel drive car, known as The Battleship, in 1908. The unique feature of their system was a “constant velocity” universal joint used in both ends of the front (steering) axle, invented and patented by Zachow and Besserdich.

In the simple type of universal joint, the output shaft’s velocity oscillates depending on the amount of angle

Four-Wheel Drive Auto Co. by machinist Otto Zachow and his brother-in-law, William Besserdich.

between the shafts. Constant velocity (CV) U-joints, of which there are now several types, have internal motion compensators that absorb the fluctuations. CV joints are essential for “fulltime” four-wheel drive (and front-wheel drive). For “part-time” systems that do not employ a center differential, and where the front wheels are engaged only when needed, this type of universal joint is not essential. When Zachow and Besserdich demonstrated their fourwheel drive car, they caught the attention of the British Defense Ministry,

then engaged in World War I. The British ordered hundreds of trucks, and the rest as they say, is history.

FWD’s truck, developed in 1916 in response to the success of The Battleship, employed a center differential with a manual locking mechanism. At that point, Besserdich left FWD. Working with Bernhard A. Mosling, he patented an automatic self-locking center differential in 1917. They two men also received a patent on a variation of the CV U-joint front axle, and incorporated Wisconsin Duplex Auto Co., which

1. A World War I British Army truck powers its way through battlefield mud in an artist’s conception of the first mass-produced four-wheel drive vehicle. Orders for hundreds of these trucks put the fledgling FWD company into the truck business, rather than pursuing passenger car sales, as it had been doing.

2. FWD first produced a four-wheel drive passenger car based on a prototype, which they had dubbed “The Battleship.” The performance of the Battleship was what attracted the British Army to seek four-wheel drive trucks.

3. After World War II, FWD went more and more into the production of fire trucks. This photo shows an example from the late 1950s. In 1963, FWD purchased the Seagrave Fire Apparatus Manufacturing Co., moving it from Columbus, Ohio, to Clintonville, Wis., and has since concentrated exclusively on the manufacture of fire-fighting equipment.

4. The first production Oshkosh truck was the four-wheel drive Model A. It had a 72hp 4-cylinder engine and a 4-speed transmission. It had (unique for its time) a door on each side of the cab. Door windows and the windshield could be opened for ventilation.

5. Four-wheel drive was an important feature on this 1960 Oshkosh fire truck. Getting through winter snow and spring mud was vital to northern rural fire departments.

6. This Oshkosh Model 1834 of the late 1950s shows the extreme overhang of the engine to get maximum traction from the front wheels and the shortest possible wheelbase for maneuverability.

7. Farm equipment manufacturer Minneapolis-Moline began converting farm tractors for military use as early as 1938. This four-wheel drive vehicle was built for the U.S. Navy as an aircraft mover, hence the long, low silhouette. The engine is set so far back, in order to get it down behind the front axle, that the transmission is actually behind the seat. In 1939, an Army sergeant at Aberdeen Proving Grounds, recognizing the vehicle’s potential for usefulness, made a Jeep sign for it naming it after Eugene the Jeep, a character in the Popeye comic strip. The name stuck and was used in official paperwork, thus preceding its eventual application to Bantam/ Willys GP. Photo courtesy Andrew Morland.

morphed into the highly successful Oshkosh Truck Co., of Oshkosh, Wisconsin (about 30 miles south of Clintonville).

The quest for traction

The early farm tractor industry recognized the benefits (and challenges) of four-wheel drive. By 1920, there had

been five unsuccessful attempts. The first was the Heer of 1910, featuring four-wheel pivot-axle steering, fourwheel brakes and log-chain drive, cleverly avoiding the need for universal joints of any kind. The articulated tractor, common today, first saw light in 1912 as the Olmstead Four-Wheel

Drive. This type can get by with double Cardan U-joints across the pivot.

Several types of four-wheel drive farm tractors came and went over the early years of internal-combustion powered tractors. The Nelson, produced in 1912, was much like the Heer in layout. The three-wheel drive Michigan of 1915 also employed logchain power transmission.

In 1919, two unique approaches to improved four-wheel drive farm tractors were unveiled. The first, the Post, was not actually a four-wheel drive. Instead, it featured two centrally-placed drive and steering wheels with outrigger wheels, like a bicycle with training wheels. The other was the Samson Iron Horse (see image opposite page), which was possibly the first skid-steer. It was followed by the Wilson skid-steer. The year 1919 also saw the launch of the illfated John Deere Dain, which actually was a three-wheel drive.

The industry then turned to crawlers in a search for more traction. The Fitch Four Drive of 1926 was a notable exception. Fitch produced several models of four-wheel drive machines before going out of business in 1929. No records are known to exist detailing the company’s methods of power transmission and steering.

During World War II, the Jeep –originally developed by American Bantam, but mass-produced by Willys and Ford – became the best-known four-wheel drive vehicle in the world. The Dodge WC (Weapons Carrier) and Chevrolet G506 4x4 trucks were also produced by the thousands. GMC, Studebaker and others produced the famous “Deuce-and-a-half” 2-1/2-ton, six-wheel drive trucks. All told, North America manufacturers built about 1.5 million 4x4 and 6x6 vehicles during the war.

Evolution of the jeep

Speaking of jeeps, tractor manufacturer Minneapolis-Moline claims to have first attached the moniker “Jeep” to its four-wheel drive military vehicle prior to anyone extending the Bantam/ Willys GP (General Purpose) into Jeep. Minneapolis-Moline built the UTX, a four-wheel drive vehicle for the U.S. Military, based on its failed Model UDLX highway-capable farm tractor. It was slow and heavy, but in 1939, an Army sergeant at Aberdeen Proving Grounds, recognizing its potential for usefulness, made a Jeep sign for it, naming it after Eugene the Jeep, a character in the Popeye comic strip, a mysterious animal with supernatural abilities. The creature didn’t speak, except to say “Jeep-Jeep” and communicated

U.S. patent No. 602,310: Patent for locomotive awarded to B.J. Diplock April 12, 1898.

A 1919 sales brochure hyped the “Wonderful” Samson Iron Horse, claiming that no airplane, automobile, wireless telegraph or telephone compared to the farmer’s benefits when he used the company’s sturdy and dependable tractors. Each came complete with a governor, power take-off, drawbar and rope-line control.

by sigh language. Eugene the Jeep first appeared in the March 16, 1936, Thimble Theatre Popeye comic strip.

The M-M UTX morphed into the NTX, based on the company’s Model Z tractor. The NTX served the Army Air Force’s need for an aircraft towing tractor from 1942-’44. Minneapolis-Mo line designed the lowslung body to allow the NTX to slip under aircraft wings. It was powered by a 44hp, 4-cylinder engine.

Following World War II, the tractor industry produced several skid-steer, articulated and steerable four-wheel drive vehicles. CV universal joints of various designs became commonplace. Through the 1960s, mechanical and hydraulic front-wheel assists were also widely available.

Setting a new standard

In the 1950s, several companies produced kits that provided mechanical front-wheel drive for tractors. These were much like the kits made during World War II to convert standard trucks to four-wheel drive for the military. The category also included, among others, NAPCO four-wheel drive assemblies for GMC, Chevrolet, Ford and Studebaker vehicles; Elenco Products, producing front-wheel assist kits for several models of Ford tractors; and Elwood Mfg.

WON THE BATTLE, LOST THE WAR

AMERICAN BANTAM CRANKED OUT DESIGN FOR FOURWHEEL DRIVE MILITARY VEHICLE IN RECORD TIME, BUT STILL COULDN’T WIN PRODUCTION CONTRACT

Company’s EmCo kits for Minneapolis-Moline, International Harvester, Massey Ferguson, John Deere and Case tractors.

With hydraulic Front Wheel Assist (FWA), an enginedriven hydraulic pump provides power to hydraulic motors in each front wheel. FWA offered improved pulling power, especially with a weighttransferring hitch, and adjustable wheel spacing for varying row widths. But most FWA systems didn’t work in reverse.

By the 1970s, four-wheel drive was becoming commonplace as midwestern and western farmers put more and more land into production, accelerating the demand for faster tillage. The combination of increased production and advancements in both mechanization and manufacturing created a strong market for four-wheel drive farm tractors.

Today, on at least the four American brands of farm tractors (Case IH, John Deere, Massey Ferguson and New Holland), mechanical four-wheel drive is virtually standard equipment. The largest operations, of course, still use the big articulated four-wheel drives, and most farms use the small skidsteer four-wheel drive loaders. FC

The origins of the Word War II military jeep make for an interesting aside. In 1940, when it became obvious that the U.S. would soon be drawn into the war then raging in several parts of the world, the U.S. Army contacted 135 companies asking them to create working prototypes of a four-wheel drive reconnaissance car. Only two companies, American Bantam Car Co. and WillysOverland, responded. The Army set a seemingly impossible deadline of 49 days to supply a working prototype. Willys asked for more time but was refused. American Bantam had only a small staff, so chief engineer Harold Crist hired Karl Probst, a freelance designer, to tackle the assignment.

Probst began work on July 17, 1940, initially without salary, and drew a full set of plans in just two days. On his third day on the job, he worked up a cost estimate. Bantam’s bid was submitted on July 22, 1940. Much of the vehicle would be assembled from off-the-shelf Bantam car parts. Four-wheel drive components were to be supplied by Spicer.

The hand-built prototype was completed and driven to Camp Holabird, Maryland, on Sept. 23 for Army testing. The vehicle met all of the Army’s criteria. Bantam surely expected to garner a sole-source and lucrative production contract, but that was not to be. Recognizing the inadequacy of Bantam’s production facilities, contracts were awarded to Willys and Ford to build the majority of World War II jeeps, while Bantam built fewer than 3,000.

– Robert N. Pripps

After 36 years in the aircraft industry, Bob Pripps returned to his first love and began writing about tractors. He has authored some 30 books on the subject and several magazine articles. Pripps has a maple syrup farm near Park Falls, Wisconsin. In harvesting the maple sap, he relies on a Ford Jubilee and a Massey Ferguson 85.

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RECRUITING FUTURE for the

MIDWEST OLD THRESHERS REUNION PAIRS A NEW GENERATION WITH OLD TECHNOLOGY

By Leslie C. McManus

When Melinda Huisinga attended the Midwest Old Threshers Reunion for the first time, she was not yet a year old. But something clearly clicked, because with the exception of the year when she was just days away from giving birth to her daughter, she hasn’t missed a reunion since.

For more than seven decades, Melinda has been both a tireless volunteer and an unofficial ambassador for the reunion. Working with family members, she fires up her 65hp Case steam engine every day during the annual event, starting early, ending late. She helps out at the show’s steam-powered carousel and answers visitors’ questions. She pitches in at her church’s food stand; sometimes she’s involved in the steam engine spark show. “I sleep well at night,” she admits.

She doesn’t limit her volunteer involvement to the week of the show. Melinda is a member of the Midwest Old Threshers board of directors and is executive director of the Old Threshers Foundation. She is committed to ensuring the reunion’s future success, and a big part of that hinges on getting another generation on board. “If you want this hobby to continue, you have to get young people involved,” she says, “because it runs on volunteers.”

Growing up at the show

On a late summer day in 1950, Melinda’s folks loaded up their infant daughter and went to something new in Mount Pleasant. A group of men had organized something they were calling an old threshers reunion. Melinda’s dad was instantly hooked. Eventually, Melinda says, his whole life revolved around the reunion.

Like father, like daughter. At age 2, Melinda was on a steam engine in the Old Thresher’s daily Cavalcade of

Melinda Huisinga’s 65hp Case steam engine and her 1/2-scale 65hp replica on display at the Midwest Old Threshers Reunion. “When Old Threshers started in the 1950s, nobody expected it’d still be going 72 years later,” she says. “But it is, and it’s bigger and better than ever.”

Melinda Huisinga with grandsons Conrad (left) and Lincoln Sieren and daughter Kristin Sieren.

Power. As a child, she remembers running home from grade school, doing her homework and tearing out of the house to get to the showgrounds. “I grew up at Old Threshers,” she says.

Melinda and a girlfriend, Vicki Mathews, were regulars at the show. “Her dad, Stan Mathews, was president of the Midwest Central Railroad there,” she recalls. “He had a Case steam engine and I liked riding on it.” But in all those rides, all those years, she never got a turn at the wheel. A few women were trained as operators in those days, but all were the daughters of engine owners. “I can see why he wouldn’t let me drive,” she says of her friend’s dad. “It was an older generation, and there was no steam school back then.”

Learning to get involved

From the outside looking in, it’s as if the Old Threshers Reunion is automatically issued a new crop of volunteers each year. In reality, they are drawn by a multitude of unique activities at the showgrounds. The Ladies of Steam (see Farm Collector, August 2020) is effective in introducing women to steam engines. School tours bring kids who ride the steam-powered carousel and learn how it works (they’re sent home with a goodie bag containing a free ticket to ride the carousel during the reunion, bringing them and their families back). Boy Scout Jamborees bring in more young people.

And then there’s the Old Threshers steam school, which was launched in the 1980s. It’s educational, it promotes safety … and it’s a highly effective volunteer recruiting tool, especially for those who are hooked on steam but don’t have an engine of their own. “People come to steam school, they get hands-on experience, and they get involved,” Melinda says. “Then they come back and volunteer at events held through the year, including the reunion.”

Increasingly, families attend steam school together. “There might be a boy or a girl who wants to go to steam school, and next thing you know, their parents and siblings come along,” Melinda says. “It becomes a family event. It gets women and the younger generation involved, ages 14 to 75. My grandsons are 9 and 10, and they want to go right now. They have operated both of our engines and are waiting for the day when they are old enough to take steam school, but I doubt if they can wait until age 14.”

Stretching young minds

There’s one simple way to get kids involved with steam engines. “The younger generation loves a hands-on experience,” Melinda says. “You just have to be careful because of the inherent danger that comes with a steam engine. That’s one of the things steam school does: It teaches safety.”

In fact, steam school and steam engines teach all kinds of lessons. “Kids working with steam engines definitely learn responsibility,” Melinda says. “They understand that steam engines are not toys and they have to be very careful.” In the process, she says, they also learn to respect adults and listen to them when they’re trying to teach them something. The payoff comes at the reunion, when they get a chance to help operate engines and compete in steam engine games.

Kids also learn lessons in science and history that they might snooze through in a traditional classroom. “We show them how iron doesn’t rust when it’s under water because there’s no oxidation,” Melinda says. “We show them the jobs that steam engines do. We talk to them about

Abigail Keeven, Bland, Mo., readies Melinda’s scale-model Case for the daily parade. Melinda’s engines are so clean they nearly sparkle.

how agriculture has evolved from farming with horses, to steam engines, to tractors. We tell them about an era when there was no Nintendo, when there were water boys and engine crews.”

Jumping in with both feet

For decades, Melinda’s involvement with steam engines was largely limited to the sidelines. She enjoyed watching her son, Chad, completely embrace the hobby. After Chad’s

untimely death from natural causes in 1995, Melinda had an epiphany. “The only way to really learn about a steam engine and operate one,” she says, “is to buy your own engine and then go to steam school.”

Partnering with Chad’s best friend, Ryan Lumsden, Melinda bought a 65hp Case steam engine dating to about 1915 (the engine’s serial number tag was stolen, so the date of manufacture remains unknown). “That’s the most common size of Case engines,” Melinda says.

Melinda bought the engine out of Wisconsin, where it was long used on a sawmill, she says, leaving the gears in great shape. The versatile engine could be used to provide power for a sawmill or pull an eight-bottom plow. That versatility prompted Ertl Toys to use her engine as a model for their 1/16-scale Millennium Toy in 2000.

She also puts a 1/2-scale replica of a 65hp Case steam engine through its paces at the reunion. “You can really teach younger people about steam with that engine,” she says. “Bigger engines are way too intimidating for some people, but that little engine is like a magnet.”

“The rent you pay”

Melinda’s involvement with the steam hobby, starting at that inaugural Old Threshers reunion, has not so much changed her life as enhanced it. “This hobby and this show, they’re definitely family activities,” she says. “We’ve developed so many friendships with people who come back year after year.”

Then there were the unique opportunities. For three years, she operated her engine at the Iowa State Fair, giving kids free rides and promoting the Old Threshers Reunion, the City of Mount Pleasant, Iowa Wesleyan University and the Mount Pleasant Chamber of Commerce at a tourism booth. She and her engine were part of Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack’s inauguration in 1999. Twenty years ago, when the national governors’ convention was held in Iowa, Melinda was

After hands-on experience and careful training, youngsters get the chance to put new skills to the test. Photo courtesy Midwest Old Threshers Reunion.

Learning about steam engines is not all fun and games. Young people get hands-on experience with every step of the operation. Photo courtesy Midwest Old Threshers Reunion.

there with her steam engine, which she used to steam sweet corn for attendees.

“We traveled all over the state with that engine,” she says.

Today, Melinda and her engine stick close to home in Mount Pleasant. Since the 2022 death of her husband, Alan, she’s taken over his role as executive director of the Old Threshers Foundation. She’s also part of a small army of dedicated volunteers who believe strongly in the value of service, and who do their best to share that value with a new generation. “My husband always said ‘Volunteering is the rent you pay for the space you occupy,’” she says. FC

For more information: Melinda Huisinga, (515) 490-9338; email: cmhstudio@aol.com.

Midwest Old Threshers Reunion will be held Aug. 31-Sept. 4, 2023 at 405 East Threshers Rd., Mt. Pleasant, IA 52641; (319) 385-8937; oldthreshers.org. Old Threshers Foundation, otfoundation@oldthreshers.org.

Leslie C. McManus is senior editor of Farm Collector. Email her at LMcManus@ogdenpubs.com

Close exposure to old iron can be habit forming. Photo courtesy Midwest Old

When the Gilpin sulky plow went into production in 1875, it launched Deere & Co. into a new era, with the Gilpin and its successors continuing in the Deere line for decades to come. This fine example of chromolithographic commercial art (printed by Gies & Co. Lithography, Buffalo, New York) shows John Deere and his dog watching a 3-horse team pull a Gilpin sulky plow.

Three versions of this poster are known to exist. The color version reproduced here (from what is possibly the only remaining original) features a plain toolbox and the Gies & Co. printer’s mark at lower right. The late historian David Schnakenberg dated the piece to 1876 – the date shown at the top of the triangular arch of the center building of the Deere factory complex in the illustration. “Perhaps Gies & Co. was hopeful that Deere would exhibit this poster in the Agricultural Hall at the 1876 Centennial Exposition held in Philadelphia,” he said. “However, I have not been able to locate any evidence that Deere had an exhibit of its line of farm machinery at that exposition.”

An original version of this poster also exists in black and white. “I presume it was a pre-production sample and most likely was the earliest one printed because it does not have the Gies & Co. printer’s mark,” David explained. The black-and-white print also has an 1876 date clearly printed at the top of the center building.

A third version incorporates changes presumably requested by Deere management. The name “Moline” is shown on the toolbox, and 1847 (the year Deere’s Moline Plow Works was established) appears in two places (at the top of the center building’s triangular arch, and between the first and second floors on the left-most building) replacing the 1876 notation on the earlier pieces. This version also has the Gies printer’s mark at bottom center. Just two original copies of this version are known to exist.

In 1990, Deere & Co. reproduced the poster referenced in the third version. In those copies, the words “Licensed Publisher Williams Co., Chattanooga, TN” appear in the lower left corner of the flange, and the original Gies & Co. printer’s mark has been removed. Know of any other original versions of this poster? Let us hear from you. FC

To submit a vintage advertisement for publication, send it to: Iron Age Ads, Farm Collector, 1503 S.W. 42nd St., Topeka, KS 66609; or submit high-quality digital images by e-mail: editor@farmcollector.com.

A CASTLE FOR CAST IRON

VINTAGE TRACTORS, IMPLEMENTS AND ENGINES FIND A PERMANENT HOME IN 910-YEAR-OLD AUSTRIAN CASTLE

By Glenn Thompson

Some antique tractor and engine clubs meet in a variety of venues, including restaurants, private homes, museums and purpose-built facilities. Other such organizations meet only online. However, few have as opulent quarters as the Historic Agricultural Technology Organization of Austria (HLTO), whose members gather in a 12th century castle perched on a cliff overlooking the Danube River.

Leiben Castle (Schloss Leiben) was constructed in about 1113 by the Knight of Leiben, whose family occupied the castle until 1332. In 1617, the castle was sold to Hans Christian Geyer von Ostlerburg, who had the building restored to its present form. In 1796, the castle became the property of the imperial royal family, supported with funding by Emperor Franz I. With collapse of the monarchy, management of the castle was turned over to the Administrative Disability Fund in 1919. From 1945 on, it fell under the jurisdiction of the Austrian Federal Forests.

The castle deteriorated over the years and extensive repair was needed to make it habitable. In the 1980s, it was purchased by the city of Leiben. Since then, the city has poured a great deal of time, effort and money into restoration of the building and it now is used as a museum, a meeting place and a place for local events. Visitors are awed by 17th century ceilings that feature allegorical, mythological and religious paintings by an unknown artist.

A club for collectors of antique tractors had existed in Vienna since 1982. However, the restoration of Leiben Castle presented new and exciting possibilities. The HLTO was organized in 1991. Its first president was Karl Krischka, then chief executive officer of John Deere Austria. HLTO members promoted the idea of establishing an agricultural engineering museum in the castle and worked with Leiben city

officials to establish the Austrian Agriculture Museum Schloss Leiben in 2004. The present facility is the result of dedicated efforts by club members and representatives of the city.

Museum exhibits are located throughout the castle’s four levels. Tractors and engines are housed on the ground level. Martin Trausnitz, HLTO president and one of the club’s staunchest supporters, has a large collection of demonstration models representing the beginning of agriculture mechanization on the second level. The third level contains an exhibition featuring the Marshall Plan, and United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) support. E. Sykora’s collection of 1,000 scales from 70 countries is housed on the fourth level.

About one-third of the exhibits are owned by the museum. Another third belongs to club members and their supporters; remaining items are on loan from Czechoslovakian, German and Hungarian museums. A cooperative loan agreement with the German Agriculture Museum Blankenheim in 2021 has further increased the number of items on exhibit.

Leiben Castle is so large that it can easily host multiple events and exhibits at the same time. Although the bulk of the castle is unheated, two large rooms with kitchen facilities are heated and available for weddings and other events year ‘round. Major events include Museum Day and a Christmas market. The primary tractor and automobile show of the year is on the Monday after Easter. Food, drink and a promotional brochure are included with admission.

HLTO has approximately 100 members and an additional 50 supporters who maintain the museum. Work days are held on Wednesdays.

For more information, visit the club’s website at hltoe.at.

Glenn Thompson, professor emeritus from the Wisconsin University System, was born and raised on a farm in South Dakota. In addition to other pursuits at his home in Texas, Glenn rides herd over “an eclectic collection of dead and dying riding mowers and compact tractors.” Email him at uffda@beecreek.net

The Historic Agriculture Technology Museum (HLTO) in Leiben, Austria.

Austria

A German-built Hanomag R28 tractor on parade.

A display of demonstration models in one of the museum’s galleries.

Tractors on display in the restored castle.

Tractors and implements – like this German-built Claas Super Automatic S combine – get their minute of stardom during parades.

Handsomely restored gas engines are part of the museum’s display.

The tractor display fills a compact footprint.

A German-built Bautz combine creeps up the parade route.

SCRATCH-BUILT HALF-SCALE RUMELY RUNS WITH THE BEST OF THEM

By Fred Hendricks

Ivan Miller has earned an enviable reputation for building highquality scale-model Rumely tractors that are fully operational – and it all came from a shared dream. “I admired scale-model Rumelys that were displayed at tractor shows,” he says. “When I was about 14 years old, Dad and I dreamed of building our own version. Eventually, years later, we set to work and scaled one from a 16-30 Rumely that Dad owned.”

Wonder SMALL

By then, Ivan had gained considerable steel fabricating experience and that helped the dream become a reality. Over the past five years, he’s scratchbuilt four copies of the same model, adding more detail with each build. Skills gained on the job transfer to a hobby and a sideline

Ivan grew up in Holmes County, Ohio. He and his wife, Martha, along with their young children, now live in nearby Baltic. “In our Amish community, my farm experience consisted of working some for a neighbor who had a small dairy herd,” he says. “But Dad’s metal-working tools drew me to his shop rather than farm work.” The family

Ivan Miller’s scratch-built Rumely OilPull. This unique half-scale model is fully operational with a 1-1/2hp International Harvester engine. Note the precision-built parts and detailed pinstriping.

This Rumely’s operator’s platform. The canopy is made with a wood frame and light-gauge metal.

lived on the same property as his grandparents, and where Ivan’s grandpa had a tractor repair business and housed a collection of Huber and Rumely tractors.

Ivan’s interest in tractors grew from that collection. “I liked working on small engines, like Maytags, when I was a teenager,” he says. That work included engines in the family’s collection and some from other collectors. The family also owns a 1909 Case 30hp steam

In this view of the scale model, the seat is swung out for ease of operator entry. The steering wheel is on the right while the spark plug is slightly visible left and ahead of the steering wheel. The single lever when pushed forward activates the tractor’s forward movement. When pulled back, it serves as a brake lever.

engine. “I enjoy the mechanical work it requires,” he says, “along with operating it on different kinds of equipment at steam engine shows.”

Ivan took advantage of the opportunities the shop offered by tackling various projects. As a teen, he discovered satisfaction in designing and fabricating items from scratch. “It was a learning process, as everything didn’t always turn out as expected,” he says. “With

The Rumely’s hand-crafted wheels required considerable time to build. The spokes are laser-cut from 3/16-by-1-inch flat steel stock. They are riveted to the hub and connected to the cut and rolled wheel rims. Painting and pinstriping provide a professional finish.

This view shows the front assembly with the expertly finished exhaust, paint and detailed pinstriping.

The scale model is powered by a 1-1/2hp International Harvester engine. The copper tubing is connected to the fuel pump and the gas tank that sits front and center behind the axle.

A close-up view of a superbly built pulley coming off the 1-1/2hp International engine.

Front view of Ivan Miller’s half-scale Rumely OilPull. The exhaust outlet is shown at top center; the steering mechanism is at bottom center. The front wheels have a protective rubber band; the rear wheels have protective rubber cleats.

each failed project, I gained a little more knowledge for the next venture.”

Through experience gained during 15 years’ employment at a metal fabrication company, he launched a related business. “Although I have not named my business, it consists of designing and fabricating custom machinery,” he says. “In addition, I’ll be building scale-model Rumely tractors. Since I have operated vintage tractors, I also plan to provide mechanical repair work on them.”

OilPulls and ToeHolds

The M. & J. Rumely Co. was established in 1853 in La Porte, Indiana. Through several mergers, the company became known as Advance-Rumely. The company grew into a formidable manufacturer of agriculture equipment designed for use on the Great Plains, but it was first known as a manufacturer of reliable threshing machines. As the business grew, it transitioned into manufacture of steam engines.

In 1887, the company name changed to M. Rumely Co. In 1910, the company began building the 25-45 Rumely OilPull Model B. The engine was launched during a time when farmers had high expectations of usefulness and longevity. The two-cylinder engine proved easier to start and more convenient to operate than a steam engine. Designed to run on kerosene, the OilPull was christened “Kerosene Annie.”

In 1912, Rumely acquired designs for a unique orchard tractor from the California firm of Joshua Hendy Iron Works. The product was marketed as the Rumely ToeHold. Questions remain as to whether the ToeHold ever went into full production.

The larger 30-60 Rumely Model E was introduced in 1910, followed by the single-cylinder 15-30 Model F in 1911. Meanwhile, rapid expansion of M. Rumely Co. and Rumely Products Co. generated growing pains. After reorganization in 1915 as Advance-Rumely Co., OilPull production was concentrated at the La Porte plant; production of the company’s steam engines and threshing machines continued in Battle Creek.

Half-scale model based on the 16-30 Model H

Ivan’s scratch-built half-scale Rumely was patterned off a 16-30 Rumely OilPull Model H manufactured from 1917 into 1924. Rumely built a total of 14 models of tractors from 1910 through 1930. The Model H was modernized in

the 1920s, when the original steel channel frame was replaced by a pressed steel frame, resulting in a lighter but more rigid engine.

In 1924, Advance-Rumely purchased Aultman-Taylor Machinery Co., Mansfield, Ohio. Aultman-Taylor built threshing machines, steam engines and tractors. At a time when the market for bigger, heavier tractors was weakening, the acquisition of Altman-Taylor did little to enhance Rumely’s struggling sales.

In 1927, Advance-Rumely purchased all patents and rights to a convertible tractor-cultivator previously produced by Toro Motor Co. of Minneapolis. That acquisition resulted in production of the Rumely DoAll tractor, but sales were disappointing. Meanwhile, interest in the long-established Rumely OilPull tractors had started to lag.

Ultimately, Advance-Rumely was another casualty of the Great Depression. The firm was eventually acquired by Allis-Chalmers in 1931. Allis-Chalmers ended production of all Rumely OilPull tractors but gained the Rumely manufacturing facility and an extensive dealer network.

Advance-Rumely’s headquarters and production facility in La Porte would become known as the “Harvest Capital of the World” with Allis-Chalmers’ successful All-Crop harvester line. Allis-Chalmers eventually went into bankruptcy. Its vast business interest was dismantled in 1985.

Sounds about right

Through previous experience building a half-scale 16-30 Rumely Model H, Ivan tweaked his Computer Assisted Design (CAD) system. Using CAD, OilPull parts – including wheel rims – were fabricated by outside sources. The wood framework for the roof and tin covering were also outsourced.

Ivan started with the basic framework. To that he added the power transmission from a John Deere Model 212 garden tractor. He cut and machined the model’s wheel hubs and steering mechanism. He then formed and finished the laser plates, like the wheel spokes.

The 1-1/2hp throttle-governed International Harvester engine was rebuilt by Ivan’s brother Myron. The throttle governor converted a hit-and-miss engine for continuous operation. As a result, it even sounds like an original Rumely.

Multiple parts were then welded, cleaned and prepped for painting, assembly, pinstriping and decals. As with most projects of this type, challenges arose. “For me, the most difficult part to engineer was the clutch/break mechanism,” Ivan says. “With its size, children often operate the tractor. As a result, the tractor’s movement is activated by a single clutch/brake lever. By pushing it forward over center, the clutch is engaged. Conversely, by pulling the lever back over center, the brake functions. That makes it easy for kids to operate.”

Marked by high-quality craftsmanship, the finished tractor is a near clone of the full-size model. And Ivan is just getting started. He’s already planned his next projects: a 16-30 Rumely Model H in 5/8-scale and another in quarter-scale. FC

For more information: Call Ivan Miller at (330) 600-8795 and leave a message.

Freelance writer Fred Hendricks of Mansfield, Ohio, covers a vast array of subjects relating to agriculture. Email Fred at fwhendricks@ gmail.com

A 1/16-scale model of a Rumely OilPull produced by Scale Models.

Ivan’s scale model Rumely in an advanced stage of construction. While the wheels are not ready to be attached, they are located close to their eventual position.

Baltic Ohio ✭

TOOLS of SURVIVAL

DANE IMMIGRANT’S BLACKSMITH TOOLS – THE KEY TO HIS LIVELIHOOD –SURVIVE TO TELL STORY OF FRONTIER LIFE MORE THAN A CENTURY AGO

Top: The interior of Niels Petersen’s blacksmith shop might not have been much different than this shop-on-wheels built by Larry Whitesell, Tipton, Ind. Larry hauls the shop to a nearby tractor show, where he gives demonstrations. Photo by Chad Ramsey.

Above: Ole and Else Sorensen came to Daneville Township in 1879 with their five children. The Sorensens farmsteaded near what is now Viborg, S.D. Ole was instrumental in bringing blacksmith Niels Petersen to Daneville.

By Loretta Sorensen

The history of the world would look far different if it weren’t for the blacksmith industry, which historians say began in the Iron Age, about 1200 B.C. In that era, iron began replacing bronze in implements and weapon s.

Blacksmith skills survive today among those who craft useful, durable items with an artistic flair. And some communities, like southeast South Dakota’s Viborg, are doing what they can to preserve the legacy of their own local blacksmiths.

Viborg’s roots were established in the small Dakota territorial settlement of Daneville, just south of present-day Viborg. Farmsteading there in 1864, Peter Larsen Christiansen was the first Dane to settle in the area. Few white settlers had as yet come to the area.

By 1871, several Danish families had settled near Daneville. Mads Rasmussen began operating a store there in 1872. Soon a post office was established in the store, and the location was officially named Daneville. Before long, a creamery and blacksmith shop opened near the store.

Young Danes (and Ma) strike out for America

Niels Eiestad Petersen, who would be Daneville’s first blacksmith, was born in Denmark in 1833. Greta Jensen was born in Denmark in 1850, and the two were married there in 1868.

In 1872, the Petersons and sons Christian and Lars Peter, along with Greta’s mother (Bendit Marie Jensen), immigrated to America. As soon as they settled in Lake Village, Indiana, Niels established a blacksmith shop. By the time he applied for U.S. citizenship in Indiana, the couple had added two more sons, Knud Peter and Jens Lawrence, and a daughter, Mary, to their family.

Two of Greta’s brothers lived in the Spring Valley area, near what is now Parker, South Dakota. In 1882, Niels and his family traveled by train to be closer to Greta’s brothers. Bringing his tools with him on the train, Niels and his family came directly to the young settlement of Daneville, where Niels set up his blacksmith shop.

“Can you imagine traveling on a train with all those items from the blacksmith shop?” Roberta Rasmussen asks. “Greta was my late husband’s grandmother, so I’ve heard many stories about the family.”

During the 11 years that Niels worked as a blacksmith in Daneville, two more daughters were born to the family: Bendina and Emma.

In June 1889, a diphtheria epidemic swept through the area. Greta, well known for her nursing and midwife skills, helped care for those stricken with the disease. On her return home one day, she found Niels and the couple’s oldest son, Christian, critically ill with diphtheria. Neither Christian nor Niels, who was 56, recovered. At age 39, Greta was a widow with six children and a seventh on the way.

Greta’s baby girl, Nelsia (nicknamed “Sia”) was born in July 1889. Greta would later marry Lars S. Larsen, giving birth to one more daughter, Carrie Elizabeth.

Townspeople unwilling to be left behind

Ultimately, Daneville’s fate rested in the hands of the railroad company. In 1893, the Sioux Falls, Yankton and South Western Railway (later folded into the Great Northern Railway) completed a rail line between the cities of Sioux Falls and Yankton. The line went right through Turner County but missed the little burg of Daneville by a half mile.

“Daneville citizens were quite concerned about having a livestock yard next to the rail line,” Roberta says. “In 1893, they decided to establish a new town closer to the railroad.”

The decision was made to build a new town one mile north of Daneville along the railroad tracks. One of the landowners where the new town was established, Ole Sorensen, recommended naming the town Viborg, after an ancient Denmark

city. It wasn’t long before Daneville businesses also moved to Viborg, and Daneville faded into history.

Grandson preserves granddad’s tools – twice

After Niels Petersen’s death, his tools remained in the family. “Over time, since I was his grandson, many of Niels’ possessions were given to me,” says Viborg area resident Wayne Peterson. “I stored most of the items, including the blacksmith shop pieces, in my garage for many years.”

When Viborg’s Daneville Heritage Museum was established in 2004, Wayne saw an opportunity to share his family’s history and the remnants of the blacksmith shop with the public. All the items in Wayne’s garage were put on display in the museum’s basement.

The display includes Niels’ wooden bench, tools and a toolbox, as well as the doorlatch from his shop. Subsequent shop owner Chris Goodhope used the same latch.

More questions than answers

Sturdy construction helped other relics survive the passage of time. “The bench was probably made out of old

Above: A wealth of small tools were found in the blacksmith shops of yesterday. The tools preserved from Niels Peterson’s blacksmith shop include a portion of a bit and brace, wrenches, a hoof trimmer and a kerosene blowtorch.

Above: An original toolbox Niels used in his shop is pictured here amongst other preserved items.

railroad planks, since it’s 2 or more inches thick,” Wayne says. “There are also blacksmith tongs, hammers and chisels in the display.”

Vintage kerosene torches in the display were used to heat metal. A manual drill was used to make holes. During the era when Niels operated his shop, the local blacksmith made and repaired horseshoes and items like the iron rims on wagon wheels.

“We’re not sure what Niels used for a forge,” Wayne says. “A blacksmith in that time had to learn many things. Pioneers relied on the blacksmith, and often the blacksmith’s shop was located next to the local mercantile or trading post. My father used to do some blacksmithing at Turkey Ridge (South Dakota), so I had the opportunity to see some of things a blacksmith typically did.” FC

For more information: The Daneville Heritage Museum is online at danevilleheritage.wixsite.com/main, or call (605) 766-1312.

Loretta Sorensen is a lifelong resident of southeast South Dakota. She and her husband farm with Belgian draft horses and collect vintage farm equipment. Email her at sorensenlms@ gmail.com

ONE OF THE WORLD’S OLDEST PROFESSIONS

BLACKSMITHS TODAY USE BASICALLY THE SAME TECHNOLOGY AS THEIR FOREBEARS DID CENTURIES AGO

Historians believe the first iron was shaped into a dagger in Egypt in about 1350 B.C. It’s estimated that the earliest dagger found, dating to 1350 B.C., was likely the product of a Hittite tradesman.

The Indo-European Hittites began to settle in what is now Turkey as early as 1900 B.C. By the 16th century, they had grown powerful enough to invade Babylon, becoming a superpower on a level with Egypt and Assyria. (biblicalarchaeology.org)

According to a 2017 article in Forbes Magazine, the Hittites likely invented forging and tempering, but they kept their ironworking techniques a secret. When the Hittites were scattered, their ironworking skills spread to Greece and the Balkans. This early Iron Age occurred about 800-500 B.C. The smith can also be found in the classical mythology of the Romans, Greeks, Phoenicians and Aztecs.

The earliest blacksmiths probably used wood fire to heat iron. They found that, when wood was converted to charcoal, it produced an intense fire, which could be made even hotter with a blast of air.

Those who worked with lead were known as whitesmiths and ironworkers were called blacksmiths . Chainsmiths and nailsmiths worked in their own specialty areas. “The number of folks whose last name is Smith demonstrates the prevalence of the vocation, notes the author of the Forbes article. Other surnames, such as Miller and Cooper, have similar origins.

Modern smiths use the same basic process as the early tradesmen. The forge is heated to temperatures of 2,000-3,000 degrees (Fahrenheit) using coke and a blower or bellows to concentrate the air, the Forbes article says. The steel is usually heated to around 2,000 degrees (Fahrenheit).

South Dakota

Viborg

THE HOME BLACKSMITH

The key tools used in blacksmithing continue to be the anvil, tongs and hammer. A securely mounted leg vise is also an important tool. And every element of the anvil – the face, horn, square and circular holes –serves a unique purpose. – Loretta

Sorensen

TOOLS, TECHNIQUES, AND 40 PRACTICAL PROJECTS FOR THE HOME BLACKSMITH

Author Ryan Ridgway, a blacksmith with more than 15 years of metalworking experience, has created this comprehensive guide to answer the many questions that new blacksmiths often have. Ridgway sets his book apart from less-detailed volumes by explaining the physics of moving metal, the different styles of anvils and forges, and alternative fuel sources. He presents 40 practical, easy-to-follow projects, showing aspiring blacksmiths how to make tools, farm implements, and items for home use. Plus, you will learn about the evolution of blacksmithing, setting up your own shop safely and economically, techinques from beginning to advanced, and more. The thoroughness of Ridgeway’s work makes this a must-read for anyone looking to enter the world of blacksmithing or simply add to their arsenal of blacksmithing knowledge. This title is available at Store.FarmCollector.com or by calling 866-624-9388. Mention promo code: MFCPANZ5. Item #8061.

Above: Roberta Rasmussen and Wayne Peterson are descendants of the first white settlers to farmstead near Daneville. Both serve on the Daneville Heritage Museum’s board of directors.

RECOMMENDED PRODUCTS FOR THE VINTAGE FARM COLLECTOR

FARM COLLECTOR IN RUST WE TRUST T-SHIRT

This Farm Collector T-shirt is perfect for any tractor enthusiast or collector. Printed with the image of a tractor and the Farm Collector logo as well as the saying, “In Rust We Trust” you’ll always be reminded that sometimes old is better. Printed on a soft cotton and polyester blend, you’ll never want to reach for another T-shirt again!

Item #9760-#9763 S-XL $15.00 $14.00

Item #9764 2XL $17.00 $16.00

Item #9765 3XL $18.00 $17.00

MASSEY FERGUSON 100 SERIES IN DETAIL

In this installment of his ‘In Detail’ series, author Michael Thorne turns his attention to the outstandingly successful and well-loved 100 Series of tractors. There is an extensive chapter on the implements available for the range and another on conversions. Featuring 290 illustrations, Massey Ferguson 100 Series In Detail offers an unrivaled store of knowledge for those who care passionately about these tractors and serves as a tribute to the people who made them.

Item #12012 $60.00 $51.99

The fourth edition of Herbert Kean’s A Price Guide to Antique Tools takes its prices from live and internet auctions as well as private sales. Like previous editions, the guide includes more than 12,000 prices (individual and chart combinations) that represent extraordinary tools as well as those found in flea markets.

Item #7234 $17.95 $15.95

RED TRACTORS: 1958-2022

RED TRACTORS: 1958-2022

The latest edition of the award-winning history of International Harvester and Case IH tractors features an all-new cover and updated content, including data and photos of every model built from 1958 all the way up to 2022, as well as in-depth information on how these tractors were designed and constructed. Featuring interviews with engineers and executives, previously unseen concept drawings and photos, and never before told stories, this updated edition is a gold mine of information for any red tractor fan.

The latest edition of the award-winning history of International Harvester and Case IH tractors features an all-new cover and updated content, including data and photos of every model built from 1958 all the way up to 2022, as well as in-depth information on how these tractors were designed and constructed. Featuring interviews with engineers and executives, previously unseen concept drawings and photos, and never before told stories, this updated edition is a gold mine of information for any red tractor fan.

Item #11729 $65.00 $54.99

Item #11729 $65.00 $54.99

A PRICE GUIDE TO ANTIQUE TOOLS

JOHN DEERE’S COMPANY

John Deere’s Company is the story of rural and small-town America from when eastern farmers began moving into the Midwest, through the industrial revolution, and up to the creation of the first John Deere tractors. This volume explores an uncommon family whose members, for 145 years, directed the destiny of one of America’s oldest business firms until the first non-family member was named CEO in 1982. This updated and revised edition takes several historical threads and weaves them into a lively, absorbing historical account. Hardcover.

Item #11826 $46.95 $39.95

FARM AND WORKSHOP WELDING

A practical, visual resource for welding in farm, home, blacksmith, auto, or school workshops. Comprehensive sections describe all the major types of welds, then progress into more expert welding methods. This one-of-a-kind guide will teach you everything you need to know, from arc, TIG, MIG, and gas welding to plasma cutting, soldering, welding plastic, and more. Filled with helpful visuals and photography, detailed explanations, expert suggestions, and step-by-step directions, this go-to guide is perfect for all levels of welders.

Item #11356 $24.99 $21.99

1897 SEARS, ROEBUCK & CO. CATALOGUE

For every recognizable item included in the 1897 Sears, Roebuck & Co. Catalogue, plenty of others are guaranteed to confuse or interest 21st-century readers—like Bust Cream or Food and Sweet Spirits of Nitre. What was once the standard household fare is today a sometimes strange, often funny look at what life was once like for the average American family. For antique collectors, historians, costumers, set designers, and anyone just interested in the everyday components of life back in 1897, this facsimile is as entertaining as it is educational.

Item #12045 $24.99 $21.99

TURN-OF-THE CENTURY FARM TOOLS AND IMPLEMENTS

Published in 1898, this trade catalog advertised tools, fertilizers, insecticides and other essentials for the turn-of-the-century garden, farm, greenhouse, lawn, orchard, poultry yard, stable and household. Abundantly illustrated, it included approximately 680 black-and-white images. Within the catalog’s pages, you’ll find butter printers, cast-iron field rollers, broadcast seeders, corn harvesters and huskers, root cutters, cider mills, veterinary remedies, and more.

Item #6522 $12.95 $11.95

FLAME IGNITION

FLAME IGNITION

This book is a scholarly work describing flame ignition as applied to reciprocating engines, from early experiments to later successes such as the Deutz and Crossley versions of the four stroke cycle perfected by Otto in 1876. Inside, author Wayne Grenning discusses problems encountered by the early entrants into the gas engine industry, highlighting solutions discovered by the various players.

This book is a scholarly work describing flame ignition as applied to reciprocating engines, from early experiments to later successes such as the Deutz and Crossley versions of the four stroke cycle perfected by Otto in 1876. Inside, author Wayne Grenning discusses problems encountered by the early entrants into the gas engine industry, highlighting solutions discovered by the various players.

Item #10329 $79.95

Item #10329 $79.95

The Farmall Dynasty recounts the dramatic story of the developmental history of tractors built by International Harvester, the dominant agricultural manufacturer of the early 20th century. The book includes well–researched accounts of the development of the original Farmall, the Letter Series, the 4100, Cub and other legendary IHC tractors with firsthand accounts from factory engineers describing the challenges they faced.

Item #6382 $19.95 $17.95

THE FARMALL DYNASTY

RECOMMENDED PRODUCTS FOR THE VINTAGE FARM COLLECTOR

BOTTS GOES TO WAR

The world’s favorite tractor salesman calls it quits and joins the army in the fifth installment of the Alexander Botts series, Botts Goes to War. In this volume of short stories written in the 1940s and set during WWII, farm machines have proven themselves indispensable to the war effort, and who better to equip war-torn Europe than Alexander Botts? Throughout the book, Botts encounters shortages of necessary materials and other mishaps, and responds to each situation with characteristically unique and ill-advised approaches.

Item #11942 $22.95 $20.95

BOTTS BEGINS

Alexander Botts was created in 1927 by author William Hazlett Upson, and these stories are based on Upson’s brief career as a mechanic for the Caterpillar Tractor Company. Alexander Botts and his Earthworm Tractor will charm readers young and old and entertain with innocent mayhem, timeless humor, and twists of fate.

Item #10509 $24.95 $21.95

BOTTS BREAKS HOLLYWOOD

In Botts Breaks Hollywood, the third installment of the Alexander Botts and the Earthworm Tractor series, the saga continues for our hero who, always ahead of his time, sees filmmaking as the future of tractor sales. In this collection of humorous short stories, Botts earns a promotion and is eager to share his enthusiasm for crawler tractors on the silver screen where his outrageous antics and blunders collide to capture the perfect shot!

Item #11286 $22.95 $19.95

BOTTS ABROAD

The world’s best tractor salesman is back in this second installment of Alexander Botts and the Earthworm Tractor. In this series of humorous short stories, Botts and his new bride travel to Europe on a special assignment to bring the solid, American-made machines to the Old World! Nicknamed “Gadget” because of her usefulness, Mrs. Botts proves to be as resourceful as her husband in cleverly closing deals in ancient cities previously thought to have no market for crawler tractors.

Item #11100 $22.95 $19.95

BOTTS AND THE QUEEN OF THE NORTH

In the fourth installment of the Alexander Botts and the Earthworm Tractor series, the saga continues for our hero. He tackles a variety of tricky sales situations, including promising a demonstration of a new, -speed tractor that was not yet in existence. Unwilling to backpedal on a promise, he modifies a sturdy Earthworm tractor and creates a beast equipped to conquer the difficult Canadian terrain.

Item #11735 $22.95 $19.95

BOTTS 5-BOOK SET

Get the first five installments of the Alexander Botts series in one easy-toorder bundle! This exclusive set includes Botts Begins, Botts Abroad, Botts Breaks Hollywood, Queen of the North, and the most recent installment of the series, Botts Goes to War

Item #11943 $116.95 $89.99

BACKROADS OF ROUTE 66

RESTORING ANTIQUE TOOLS

OLIVER TRACTORS

OLIVER TRACTORS

Classic Oliver Tractors chronicles this historic agricultural brand from when James Oliver bought a quarter-share of the South Bend Foundry in 1855 to when the last Oliver-branded tractor rolled off the assembly line in 1976. From Oliver’s industrial and crawler tractors to international ventures, this colorful guide illustrates Oliver’s compelling part in agriculture history.

Item #9311 $40.00 $35.99

Item #9311 $40.00 $35.99

Arizona,

This wonderfully illustrated, up-to-date guide to the natural, cultural, and historical gems hidden just off the legendary Route 66 outlines 30 trips for curious travelers. In this completely revised and updated version of the Backroads of Route 66, author and Route 66 expert Jim Hinckley is your guide from the lowlands of the American Plains to the high plateaus of New Mexico and Arizona, from the Great Lakes to the mighty Pacific Ocean, and through major metropolises and remote country towns.

Item #11787 $34.99 $31.99

Classic Oliver Tractors chronicles this historic agricultural brand from when James Oliver bought a quarter-share of the South Bend Foundry in 1855 to when the last Oliver-branded tractor rolled off the assembly line in 1976. From Oliver’s industrial and crawler tractors to international ventures, this colorful guide illustrates Oliver’s compelling part in agriculture history.

HANDY FARM DEVICES AND HOW TO MAKE THEM

Handy Farm Devices, Second Edition, is as useful and pertinent for homesteaders and small-scale farmers today as it was when it was first published nearly 100 years ago. A wealth of labor- and moneysaving projects fills this century-old guide to low-tech property maintenance along with easy-to-follow instructions and practical illustrations.

Item #10715 $14.95 $12.95

This book explains critical (and previously closely held) restoration techniques in a way that even the most uninitiated can understand and follow. Chapters cover boring and edge tools, planes (wood, wood-bottomed and metal), measuring tools, saws and other miscellaneous tools, as well as information on cleaning and refinishing.

Item #5219 $19.95 $17.95

BARNS, SHEDS & OUTBUILDINGS

Enhance your property with a beautiful outbuilding! Whether you want to build one yourself or order a project plan, this guide contains step-by-step instructions for constructing and designing more than 100 barns, sheds, and other types of outbuildings in various shapes and sizes.

Item #9922 $24.99 $22.99

COOLSPRING VOL. 1 & 2 PACKAGE

Review the entire collection with Coolspring, Vol. 1 & 2! The Coolspring Power Museum houses the world’s finest collection of early and historically significant internal combustion engines. Read about 40 historic engines from the museum profiled in Volume 1, as well as the newest displayed engines in Volume 2!

Item #10049 $39.90 $31.95

THE HOME BLACKSMITH

The Home Blacksmith presents 40 practical, easy-to-follow projects, showing aspiring blacksmiths how to make tools (such as hammers and chisels), farm implements (such as gate latches and hoof picks), and items for home use (including drawer pulls and candle holders). You’ll also learn the evolution of blacksmithing around the world and the differences between the tools specific to each region, the behavior of heated metal, the science of metalworking, how to set up a shop safely and economically, and more.

Item #8061 $19.99 $17.99

WHEN IT COMES TO MODERN TECHNOLOGY, EVERYTHING IS RELATIVE

By Jim Marmon

Our LIVES and TIMES M

In the 1980s, when home computers were in their infancy, a friend bought one to do his school lesson plans on. He spent all afternoon creating 30 minutes of plans. I decided that I would not own a computer unless the computer worked for me: I would not work for a computer! I kept my promise.

Modern technology is a fleeting term. In the 1700s, electricity was a modern wonder. Only the wealthy could watch electrical demonstrations and get shocked or have their hair stand on end. A few individuals, like Ben Franklin, believed that if electricity could be put in the hands of the general public, it could be harnessed and made to serve mankind.

In the first half of the 1800s, F.B. Morse and others invented and developed the telegraph into a practical and useful mode of communication. Next, men like Thomas Edison, Nicholas Tesla and numerous others developed many other uses for electricity.

By 1900, electricity was emerging for the average man. Many houses in cities were blessed with one plug-in and light bulb per room. Occupants thought they were in seventh heaven. They were on the cutting edge of technology.

Johnny Carson once interviewed a 94-year-old semi-retired farmer. When the guest was asked what was the greatest change in farming that he experienced, he said it was the arrival of electricity on his farm. I had expected him to

talk about tractors and how they made farming more efficient.

The arrival of electricity on the farm meant that many operations – like pumping water for the farm house and stock tanks – could be done by electric motors. This made windmills generally obsolete, except those located in remote pastures.

house. Nowadays, furnaces are controlled electrically and the heating of homes is more uniform.

Another use of electricity was in the gas engine. All gas engines use electricity to make them run. Many early engines used a magneto to create the spark. Others used a battery and coils to create the electric spark. Many stationary engines used ignitors instead of spark plugs.

If you lived in the year 1910 and were asked about technology of the future, what predictions would you make? You might have predicted that telephones would become common in most homes. Maybe cars would replace the horse and buggy. Maybe farms would get electricity. Maybe, movies would flicker less.

Fast-forward to the year 1980. In 1980, what would you predict for the future of modern electrical technology? Maybe computers will make cars and trucks run more efficiently. Maybe computers will be used in the classroom to teach students. Maybe computers will be used in homes for word processing and to calculate income taxes. Maybe computers could be used to a greater extent in assembly lines, eliminating boring and repetitive jobs.

If we look at the years 1900 and 2000, we see a cusp of technology ready to bloom in ways unimaginable to the average person. Who’d have thought that electricity would develop into radios, TVs, household and commercial appliances and computers? Who ever thought that GPS would guide tractors and combines around the fields? Or that GPS could be used to track stolen cars and farm equipment? And what about implanted chips capable of providing medical information in case of an emergency?

We have the same parallels today, in 2023, as our forebears did in 1910. Just as they did, we see dimly into the future. Our reference points give us little indication of what the future holds. A few of us will invest in the future correctly and greatly benefit. The rest of us, like Mark Twain, will invest and take a loss.

Today, solar panels provide electricity to well plumps, replacing windmills.

Remember the stationary engines once used to power grain augers, pumps and even washing machines? Electric motors have replaced them.

In the fall, Grandad and his neighbors mined low-grade coal to heat their homes. Furnaces were hand-fired. The heat would rise and travel up through heat ducts to heat several rooms in the

The big question is, “What will become of computers in the future? What futuristic inventions can we invest in and benefit from?” For those of us who farm, “What up-and-coming technology can I utilize on my farm that will be cost effective?”

Your guess is probably better than mine. FC

Jim is a retired teacher and now a fulltime farmer/rancher in northeast Montana. Email him at Marmonjd@gmail.com

Henry Ford’s Model T was once a revolutionary, newfangled product. Roughly 100 years later, driverless cars are on the road.

odern technology, to my three boys, means the advent of the computer. When asked, my youngest boy commented that he would not want to live in a world without cell phones and computers.

Arkansas

Sept. 8th 9th 10th, 2023: Gentry, AR. Branch 37, 31st Annual Tired Iron of the Ozarks Fall Show. Antique tractors, numerous oil eld engines, gas engine, operating sawmill and home appliance demonstrations, antique cars and trucks on Saturday, Parade of Power and much more! Featuring: Farmall Tractors and Oil Field Engines. Also in conjunction with the Blacksmith Organization of Arkansas at Tired Iron of the Ozarks. RV Hook-Ups. FREE ADMISSION! 13344 Taylor Orchard Road. Contact: Call or Text Matt Hyde , 479-685-9623

Connecticut

Goshen Flywheel & Tractor, Inc. Antique Tractor Show. September 15-17, 2023. Goshen Agricultural Society Fairgrounds, Goshen, CT. Displays and Vendors wanted. Hands on demos, family friendly, cider press, pick your own pumpkins, Saturday tractor pull. Antique construction equipment, heavy duty truck show, slowest truck race, food truck fest. Contact: Dan Belmonte 860-307-3473, bells8127461@gmail.com

Delaware

5th Annual Hickory Ridge Antique Tractor Show. September 1-3, 2023, 7096 Big Stone Beach Road, Milford, Delaware. Featuring: AllisChalmers Tractors & Equipment. Live DJ, Flea Market, crafts, vendors, food, tractors, trucks, cars, lawn mowers, raffles, broom making, pedal tractor pull ( ages 4-12 ), games , live auction. Free Admission! Fun for the whole Family! To be a vendor or for more information email: hickoryridgetractorclub@gmail.com or call Russel Guyer 302-222-2945 or JT Robbins 302-9437741.

Felton Community Fire Co. 2nd Annual Show. September 23-24, 2023. Main Street, Felton, DE. Featuring: Hit & Miss Engines, Corn Shelling, Craft Vendors, Flea Market, Peanut Roasting, Ice Cream, Oyster Sandwiches, Threshing Demo, Apple Cider Press Demo, Kids Corn Box, Pedal Pull. Call JT Robbins 302-943-7741 or Kevin Robbins 302-2425397.

AUCTION

Robert “Bob” Campbell, owner SATURDAY, JULY 22ND, 2023, AT 10 AM

PROXIBID Auction starts at 11 am

Location: Hwy 169 N., 2032 13th. N., Humboldt, IA Hundertmark Auction Service

David Hundertmark 515-890-0380

Tom Hundertmark 515-890-0615 www.Hundertmarkauction.com; Proxibid.com

Iowa Michigan

Michigan Flywheelers Museum's Antique ENGINE and TRACTOR Show. Celebrating 40 years! Thursday, Sept. 7Sunday, Sept. 10, 2023 in South Haven, MI. Hundreds of Tractors and Engines! Working Sawmill and Shingle Mill! Flea Market! Tractor Pulls! Consignment Auction! South Haven Tractor Cruise! Blacksmith! Music! Parades! Steamed Corn! Valve Cover Races! Olde Town! Kids Activities and much more! Call 269-639-2010 or email michiganflywheelers@yahoo.com for more info.

Minnesota

Forest City Threshers, MN. Aug. 19th-20th, 2023. Feature: International Harvester and McCormick-Deering and tractors, engines and affiliated equipment. 64917 309th St, 5 miles northeast of Litchfield, MN on Hwy. 24. Contact: Frank Berg 320-894-9774. Tractor Pull contact Dale Groskreutz 320-894-8379. www.forestcitythresher.com

Minnesota: Special 50th Annual Le Sueur County Pioneer Power Show, August 25-27, 2023, 7 miles east of Le Sueur, MN. Featuring all brands of tractors, gas engines, cars and trucks, steam engines and equipment from all past shows. For Pioneer Power info contact: Bill Thelemann, bthelemann@ yahoo.com, 952-994-2743. Website: pioneerpowershow.com.

Minnesota

August 19-20, 2023: Butter eld Steam & Gas Engine Show will be held Saturday & Sunday at Butter eld in Southwest Minnesota, just off Minnesota Hwy 60. Featuring IH tractors and engines this year. Shaded grounds along Butter eld Lake provide ideal setting for campers, steam engines and antique tractors (over 250), threshing and sawing. Hundreds of gas and model engines, antique cars & trucks, wood cutting. Machinery Parade 2:15 pm both days. Pioneer Buildings include log cabin, full-size grist mill and 16 other buildings holding arts, crafts and antiques. Bluegrass music on stage both days. Antique Tractor Pull Friday at 5:30 pm. Kids will love the Train Ride around grounds. For more information: Butter eld Threshermen's Assn., PO Box 277, Butter eld, MN 56120; http://buttereldmn.com/threshing_bee.html Also on Facebook - Butter eld Steam and Gas Engine Show.

52nd Annual Nowthen Threshing Show, August 18, 19, & 20, 2023. 7415 Old Viking Blvd. NW, Nowthen, MN or six miles northeast of Elk River, MN. Featuring: International Harvester and Farmall. Your gate admission includes: Steam Traction Engines, Gas Engines, Caterpillar Building and equipment, School, Antique Cars & Trucks, Tractor Pulls, Shingle Mill, Stationary Steam, Sawmill & Planer Shed, Threshing, Rock Crushing, Corn Chopping, Spinning, Quilting, Weaving, Pottery, Large Fairbanks Engine, 1920's Red Crown Gas Station, General Store, Print Shop, Train Rides, Blacksmith Shop, Log House & Barn, Historical Church, Milwaukee Road Depot & Memorabilia, Chainsaw Artist, Dairy Display, Children's Activities & Barnyard, Square Dancing, and music. Golf cart rentals, food vendors and a large Flea Market are also available. Come join the fun and see what the show has to offer. For general info contact John Wetter 952-253-5774 email info@nowthenthreshing.com.Website: www. nowthenthreshing.com.

Missouri

Missouri River Valley Steam Engine Assn. 60th Anniversary of Back To The Farm Reunion, Boonville Mo. Sept. 7th - 10th, 2023. Featuring: AllisChalmers. Hosting the State Allis-Chalmers Collectors Club www.mrvsea.com

COLLECTIBLES AND 100+ GAS ENGINES

Nebraska

The 41st OLD TRUSTY ANTIQUE ENGINE & COLLECTORS SHOW - September 9-10, 2023. Fairgrounds-Clay Center, NE. Featuring Avery Steam Engines, Tractors and Equipment, B.F. Avery Tractors - also Lawn and Garden Tractors. Tractor pulls, threshing, corn shelling, ensilage cutting, sawmill, heritage craftsmen, parade daily, antique autos, trucks and military vehicles. Kids pedal pulls, wheat weaving, Museum Quilt Show daily. Ride the FREE shuttle to museum. New steam tractor building, see Big Allis in Ag Hall. Indoor/outdoor flea markets, antiques, crafts, collectibles and many treasures. County music, Blacksmith, dutch oven cooking, home-made root beer, trail ride - tractor drive. Grand stand shows included in gate admission. For additional information call 402-726-2487 or visit www.oldtrusty.org.

South Dakota

Aug. 24-27, 2023: Historic Prairie Village 60th Annual Steam Threshing Jamboree, featuring stationary engines, orphan and garden equipment. Two miles west of Madison, SD on State Highway 34. Antique-filled buildings, tractors and equipment, threshing, plowing, sawmill demonstrations, four tractor pulls, parades, train and carousel rides, flea market, entertainment in Lawrence Welk Opera House, food, and fun. Dry lot camping available. 800-693-3644. www.prairievillage.org

64079

aUGUst 11 & 12, 2023

tractor, trUck & enGine show (daiLy)

FeatUrinG: case, Fairbanks-Morse enGines, kenworth trUcks

JiM MccLUnG - pcsteamshow1961@gmail.com

Jim middleton - (816) 261-2064

TRACTOR CRUISE (AUGUST 10)

APPROXIMATELY 47 MILES

AlAn liAtner - (816) 808-2329

Pl AtteCoUntYSteAmAndGASSHoW.Com

Located 1st street & trebbLe street tracy, Mo

57TH ANNUAL SHOW

60TH ANNUAL SHOW

August 21 – 23rd, 2020

August 18-19-20, 2023

7 a.m. - 5p.m.

264 Acre Show Site

Wooded Building & Exhibit Areas

29 Acres of Free Parking

3 Level Loading Dock

FEATURING

FEATURING

International Harvester

International Harvester

Kevin Haarklau

Graham Bradley - Sears Tractors

Peter Holz

Jim McGhee

Sheppard Diesel

Neal Stone Mark

Primitive camping for exhibitors only. All vehicles other than scooters and powered wheel chairs used by the disabled require proof of insurance.

See Antique Machines in Action

Steam Engines-Antique Tractors-Antique Engines-1901 Keystone Steam

Well Drilling Rig-Sawmills-Threshing-Silo Filling-Rock Crushing-Straw

Baling-Horse Powered Rock Picker– Blacksmith Shop-Woodworking Shop

-Model Engines-Old Cars & Trucks-Fuller & Johnson Museum-Building

With Displays For The Ladies-Parade Friday, Saturday & Sunday-Huge

Flea Market-Arts & Crafts-Books & Decals For Sale-Free Shuttle Rides

Around Grounds-Good Food-Home Made Pie & Ice Cream.

Driving Directions:

Exit #92 off I-90/94, Hwy. 12 East 3.8 miles to Hwy. 33 (Exit 215). West on 33 for 1/2 mile to Sand Road, north on sand road 1/2 mile to S3347 Sand Road.

Show Information:

SEPTEMBER 18-20, 2020

P.O. Box 255, Baraboo, WI 53913, 608-522-4905

Auction Saturday, September 19th at 10:00 AM

60 th Annual Harvest Festival

Jordan, Minnesota August 4-6, 2023

FEATURING: MINNEAPOLIS-MOLINE

Log Sawing and Threshing with Steam Engines, Pancake or Biscuits & Gravy Breakfast, Craft Vendors and Food Stands, Daily Parades, Live Music, Operating Printing Press and Blacksmith, Potato Digging, Quilting, Operating Lathe and Shingle Mill, Hit and Miss Engines, 1876 Aultman-Taylor Steam engine

Woman’s BLDG & Vilter Engine

Exhibitors and Vendors Welcome.

Sunday Tractor Pull

VENDOR’S INFO:

Sue Quatmann ................952-292-0515

KIDDIE TRACTOR PULL INFO:

Les Quatmann ................952-492-3417

CONTACT INFO:

Dan Wyman .....................952-687-7734

www.ScottCarverThreshers.org

Spring Swap Meet and Show Flea Market Info: Robert Mattson, 608-393-3021

Show Information: P.O. Box 255, Baraboo, WI 53913 608-522-4905 Spring Swap Meet and Show Flea Market Info: Robert & Robert Mattson, 608-393-3021

www.badgersteamandgas.com

www.badgersteamandgas.com

785-848-5346

www.FarmCollector.com

67TH Year 1956-2023

OCTOBER 6-8, 2023

ADMISSION FOR THREE DAYS - $5.00

SHOW LOCATION IS BOURBON COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS

SWAP MEET MAY 5-6, 2023

FOR SHOW INFORMATION CONTACT: Craig Shikles ...... (417) 425-4552 CShikles@windstream.net www.pioneerharvestfiesta.com

OZARKS STEAM ENGINE ASSOCIATION AND SOUTHWEST MISSOURI EDGE&TA BRANCH 16 STEAM-O-RAMA

SEPT. 14-17 • ASH GROVE, MO

FEATURES: Keck-Gonnerman Steam Engines and International Tractors and Engines. Hosting the MO Chapter #1 IH Collectors

DIRECTIONS: 6065 Hwy O, Ash Grove,

CONTACT: Jeff Ruth, 417-767-4632

EMAIL: thesteampowerman@hotmail.com www.steamorama.com

FACEBOOK: Ozarks Steam Engine Association

Your

Master the fundamentals of welding, brazing, and soldering so you can repair equipment both big and small, from a garden rake to a mower. Learn to add a bale spear to your tractor bucket, build a wallmount hay feeder, or make metal hooks. Real repair scenarios help you strategize for those moments when you need to x equipment in bad weather, at awkward angles, or out in the eld.

Item # 9562 $24.95

DISCOVER THE UNTOLD STORY OF THE “TRACTOR WARS,” THE TWENTY-YEAR PERIOD THAT INTRODUCED POWER FARMING — THE MOST FUNDAMENTAL CHANGE IN WORLD AGRICULTURE IN HUNDREDS OF YEARS.

A researcher, historian, and writer, Neil Dahlstrom has spent decades in the corporate archives at John Deere. In Tractor Wars, Dahlstrom offers an insider’s view of a story that entwines a myriad of brands and characters, stakes and plots: the Reverend Daniel Hartsough, a pastor turned tractor designer; Alexander Legge, the eventual president of International Harvester, a former cowboy who took on Henry Ford; William Butterworth and the oft-at-odds leadership team at John Deere that partnered with the enigmatic Ford but planned for his ultimate failure.

With all the bitterness and drama of the race between Ford, Dodge, and General Motors, Tractor Wars is the untold story of industry stalwarts and disruptors, inventors, and administrators racing to invent modern agriculture — a power farming revolution that would usher in a whole new world.

$25.00 Item #11370

Please call 866-624-9388 to order. Or visit: Store.FarmCollector.com

COST: Classified ads are $1.35 per word with a 20 word minimum. For photo with your ad, enclose $25 per photo. For classified display ads –those with special borders or type – call Terri Keitel at Farm Collector, 785-274-4384. Classified display ads are $65 per column inch (color). Bold words only $2 per word.

CLASSIFIED COMBO SPECIAL

Place your ad in both farm collectible publications – Gas Engine Magazine and Farm Collector – for $2.25 per word. Save up to 22 cents per word with double the exposure!

SEND PAYMENT TO: Farm Collector, Attn: Classified Advertising, 1503 S.W. 42nd St., Topeka, KS 66609.

IMPORTANT! Don’t forget to indicate ad classification and mark with “For Sale” or “Wanted.” Classifications appear below. Please write neatly. We reserve the right to edit your ad for consistency and clarity, and may reject any ad.

BEARINGS

JOHN DEERE MAIN BEARINGS FOR ALL 2-CYLINDER ENGINES! 100% Manufactured in the U.S.A. Made like the originals! Center Cam Bearings, Center Main Bearings and Rod Bearings Made-to-order / special I.D. & O.D.s / Installation & machining available. MANITOWOC MOTOR MACHINING COMPANY, LLC www.motormachining.com / toll free 1-800-666-9129

BOOKS

THE FARM WRENCH BOOK-Volume I $80. Volume II $55 Volume III $55 Volume IV $60

Combinations I, II, III & IV $240 Volumes I, II, III $180

Please send check to P. T. Rathbone, 6767 Pershall Road, Marsing, Idaho 83630

TO PLACE AN AD: CALL US TOLL-FREE AT 800-678-5779,

PAYMENT POLICY: Ads must be prepaid by check in U.S. funds, or charged to MasterCard, VISA, Discover or American Express credit card. Remember to include your name and address, and/or phone number in the word count.

MAIL YOUR AD TO: FARM COLLECTOR MAGAZINE

1503 SW 42ND STREET TOPEKA, KS 66609

classifieds@FarmCollector.com

Ads received after the deadline will be held over for the next issue unless indicated otherwise.

BOOKS

PLEASE NOTE THE DEADLINES BELOW FOR THE NEXT FOUR ISSUES.

ISSUE

September 23

October 23

November 23

December 23

DEADLINE

July 5 2023

August 1 2023

September 1 2023

October 2 2023

Farm Collector may refuse to publish any advertisement at any time, according to our discretion. However, we are dedicated to providing our readers with the broadest range of alternatives possible. We believe our readers are generally intelligent, and trust them to exercise their own good judgment when choosing whether to patronize our advertisers. We cannot verify all claims made by advertisers. Please consider any advertiser’s claims carefully before buying.

– Bill Uhler, Publisher, Farm Collector

BOOKS

New Cast Iron Seat Book #6, $40. Shipping $8 for media mail and $14 for priority. Send to John Catchings at 3524 Jefferson Township Parkway, Marietta, GA 30066. 770-5874004 Also to Join Cast Iron Seat Collectors Assn.$30 yrly dues. Contact Jeanine Kintigh, 929 E. 3rd St. Superior NE. 68978. 402-879-1181 or jrkintigh@gmail.com

Purchase online at Amazon.com or send check for $26 to Linda Laird, 1432 S. San Luis, Green Valley AZ 85614

3 books for sale of collected thoughts and rural humor:

Behind the Muf er $20

Behind the Fence $30

Behind the Motometer $10

Total of 300 pages. All 3 for $50. Mail check to Bob Frey, 104 Snyders Rd., Phillipsburg, NJ 08865

FOR SALE

BUILDING PLANS/BLUEPRINTS

HORSELESS CARRIAGE Replica: Use riding lawnmower motor, transmission and differential. 26" wheels, 52" wide, 82" long and 36" wide seat for two. 1" square steel tube frame, centrifugal clutch, 8-10 MPH speed, 5 -8 hp engine. Twenty pages computer-drawn detailed plans, parts supply and photos. Plans $20 each model. Check or money order. Jimmy Woods, P.O. Box 216, Coker, AL 35452; 205-339-8138.

CARBURETORS

Carburetor, Water Pump Rebuilding, 6 Month Warranty. Farmers Service Incorporated. 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. EST; 330-482-4180

DECAL

P.O. Box 373 Ainsworth, NE 69210

(800) 286-2171

www.tractordecal.com jonsal@threeriverwb.net

Life size aluminum grizzly bear $2,500. Great for farm or business display. Delivery possible. 785488-5150

JD Tractor parts for G, D, A, B, H, MT, 50, 60, 70, 70D, 420, 530. power steering units, 420W, 520, 620, 620LP, 720, 720LP, 730, 830, 840, 4010, 4020. L Belly Pans for $95, 1958 620LP, runs good $4,000. Darwin Gingerich, 620-386-0071.

For sale old tractor RUSTON 1909 fully restored. Matias +5491156573664 matiasnocedal@gmail.com

1933 IHC T-20 crawler. Restored, runs good, looks good. Belt pulley. Windolph Crawler with blade. Older restoration, runs good. Pictures available. 620-786-0951 (KS)

GASKETS

Any type, no tooling or minimum for most gaskets. Free online quotations. www.gasketstogo.com

JI CASE

For Sale: John Deere D, SN#132523. Starts, runs, operates, really good, $4,850. David 1-260-463-2929

ENGINES

Wanted: Looking for old hit-and-miss gas engines to buy. 614-306-0908 or gasenginetom@hotmail.com.

Wanted: Always buying hit-and-miss flywheel gas engines, big or small, one or whole collection. 419-789-1159 or jon@sideshaft.com (OH)

For Sale: 1923 Fordson tractor with 1928 fenders. Former owner gave it a ring job. I overhauled the valves. Excellent wheels, it's clean and complete with a few parts, I may have a few extra parts. Ellieb@gmavt.net; 802-425-3529. (VT)

LITERATURE/MANUALS

Tractor Manuals and literature. Large selection available. Jim Robinett, 5141 Kimball Rd, Ontario, OR; 97914. E-mail: tractrmnul@aol.com. 206-713-3441.

PARTS

Spur, helical and worm gears. Pinion and spline shafts. Made to specs or duplicate original. Elmridge Machine & Gear, 94 Fairview Rd, Lititz PA 17543 717664-1079

TURBOCHARGER KITS ANTIQUE GAS TRACTORS

FARMALL M, SUPER M 400 450. W9 600-650. FARMALL H, SUPER H, 300-350. INTERNATIONAL 460-806, FARM KIT AND 4 BARREL PULLING KITS. ALLIS CHALMERS WC-WD45. OLIVER 77-88-1650. Oliver diesel. MASSEY HARRIS 44-444. KEYSTONE TURBO LLC, SMICKSBURG PA Please call 724-6648642 duddy1@windstream.com keystoneturbollc. com

RESTORATION/ REPAIR

Next Generation Magneto Repair, 3rd generation, Dave Temple 856 Willow Brook St. N.E. Owatonna MN, 55060; 507-339-1470.

Steering cylinder repair, New replacement parts manufactured by us. Case200,300,400,500 series tractors. Ford 700,800,900 series tractors. New pistons, rods, seals and cylinders. Bob Hunter, Pioneer Hydraulics, 5807 E Hayward Rd, Waukomis, Okla.73773. bhunter772@gmail.com, 580603-0063.

Carr's Repair: We got you Covered! Restore those powerhouses back to original! New IH sleeves & piston kits for IH 9, IH 6 and IH MD, 450D, W-9-650 series gas and diesel tractors and John Deere, D and R piston kits, 720 and 830 Diesel kits. Int'l Falls, MN No Sunday calls. Ph 807-487-2548, www. carrsrepairvintageparts.com

RESTORATION/ REPAIR

For Sale: Grade One plow handles, $50 per pair, postpaid. Beverly Egbers, 326 County Road 24, Hooper, NE 68031; 402-567-2588.

Obsolete water pump? Let me rebuild yours. Mark, 623-205-4482; waterpumprebuilder@gmail.com

TRACTOR DISPLAY SIGNS

Personalized, Magnetic, Weatherproof Display Signs Perfect for Antique Tractor Parades and Shows! Visit www.TheBadgeFactory.com or call 410-239-3368 to order. Take 10% Off with Promo Code: COLLECTOR

WANTED

Parts for Athens Disc Plow for Model F Fordson. Also looking for information on WEHR Super Power Unit for Model F Fordson. Mark Kline, 507-210-4393. Leave Message.

SERVICES

Antique Radio of Iowa- Vintage radio restoration and speaker service. We service 6 and 12 volt radios. Auto, truck, tractor and all home radios, 8-tracks. 1934-1990. New for 2019 Neon and Clock service. 712-322-2255 dnordboe@aol.com, Find us on Facebook @ Antique Radio of Iowa. 3131 Ave. A Council Bluffs IA, 51501

Looking for old hit miss engines, parts, models and/or entire collections. 614-3060908 or gasenginetom@hotmail.com. (OH)

Wanted:" Want to buy Chase Manufacturing Company, Mason City, Iowa made engines and advertising" My registry of Chase Mfg. Co. engines contains engines: 9, 49, 52, 96, 101, 599, and 805 as of July, 2022. Email: rogerwhite57@ gmail.com. WY

Like to buy any type of old farm equipment, one piece or whole collection, salesman samples, country store, corn shellers, anything farm related, advertising signs, old wood signs. Leave message 574-304-4587