Innholdsfortegnelse for April 2023 i Farm Collector

The most interesting display at a show is often one pairing a tractor, stationary engine or steam engine with an implement. If I had a dime for every time a collector has said to me, “A tractor (or an engine or a steam engine) by itself doesn’t really do anything,” I’d be set for life. But by the same token, even that display of a tractor and a plow, or an engine providing power to a line shaft, or a steam engine running a threshing machine, tells only part of the farmer’s story. How did equipment fit into the “big picture” of life on the farm decades and decades ago? To me, the story becomes even more compelling when the focus is on the era before farm mechanization became commonplace.…

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 April 2023 items will appear in the June 2023 issue. Answers for new items in this issue must be received by April 10, 2023. A. No markings. B. Item measures 30 inches in length, has a threaded handle and is marked 285W on the sliding flange. Several were found hanging together in an old barn, possibly used in pairs. C. The side with the spring under it can be pushed down. No markings. Possibly fits into another bracket. D. Tool measures 6 inches long with an open notch…

Backing into near-disaster More harvest crew stories from 1964 with Bud Schwisow: After our first location, harvesting in Archer City, Texas, we loaded up our four Super 92 Massey Fergusons on four Chevrolet trucks and headed to Weatherford, Oklahoma. It was raining when we got there and we had to set up our house trailers in the rain. Bud and his wife and two kids stayed in one, and our eight-man crew was in the old Airstream camper. It rained off and on for the next five days and there was no combining. Bud managed to get the combines unloaded and the headers mounted and sideboards on trucks. We did some minor maintenance and old green paint was polished up. That old truck had the frame plated and a tag…

Anyone who has ever raised a garden or taken care of a lawn knows that weeds are the enemy. Farmers have always waged a bitter war against invasive plants like ragweed, thistle, quack grass, morning glory, pigweed and others. Even with advancements in herbicides, farm equipment and planting techniques, the battle against weeds continues to this day. Good farmers never allowed a weed to go to seed, not only in their fields and pastures, but along roadways and in ditches as well. This required constant vigilance, and lots of hand-pulling or hoe-chopping. On most farms, kids learned to pull any weeds seen while wandering the farm. Today, of course, chemicals are the weapons of choice for fields, lawns and gardens and, to some extent, along roads and highways. Yet, those…

Daniel Massey established Newcastle Foundry & Machine Mfg. in Newcastle, Ontario, Canada, in 1847. Massey’s son, Hart, subsequently renamed the enterprise Massey Mfg. Co. In 1879, Massey relocated its operations to Toronto. The A. Harris, Son & Co. was launched by Alanson Harris in 1857 in Brantford, Ontario. These two firms merged in 1891, forming Massey-Harris Ltd. With the merger, Massey-Harris Ltd. Immediately became the largest farm equipment manufacturer in the British Empire. The company produced threshing machines and reapers and, responding to a craze in the 1890s, bicycles. By the time the company was purchased by Thomas Bradshaw and J.H. Gundy of Toronto in 1927, Massey family members had moved on to other ventures and had no subsequent involvement in the company. Massey-Harris entered the tractor business in 1914,…

This article is dedicated to all collectors, most of whom will recognize these steps in their hobby. First, the unique wooden wall plaque you have created will not, in fact, hold all the items you desire. Second, the wall in your den will not hold or support all of the items you have designated for that space. And third, you begin hearing complaints that the garage shelves are sagging. This final step designates you as a serious collector. With the den walls overloaded, the garage shelves filled and the back patio covered with who knows what, dreams of an outside building begin to form. Whoa up! Seems the kitchen and bathroom need to be remodeled before the dream can be pursued. Some time later, the idea of an old remodeled…

JOHN DAVID WANNER IS OUR FEATURED ARTIST FOR APRIL! John David Wanner, the son of David and Kathryn Wanner, Fayetteville, Tennessee, is this month’s featured artist. John David will receive a Farm Collector T-shirt: Congratulations, John David! JOHN DAVID WANNER AGE 16 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,…

Scenes of daily life on the farm are showcased in this chromolithograph poster dating to about 1900. Created as a promotional piece for Advance Thresher Co., Battle Creek, Michigan, the poster illustrates a threshing scene of the day. Shown in the clouds at the center is an image of Advance’s trademark “banner boy” waving the Advance flag. Advance produced at least three different chromolithograph posters, each featuring the banner boy. The company was known for colorful advertising items including needle holders, playing cards, checkerboards, trade cards and catalogs. Advance Thresher Co. was founded in 1881 in Battle Creek, Michigan, to manufacture wood-sided threshing machines. The company began manufacture of steam traction engines in 1884. Dr. Edward Rumely of M. Rumely Co. purchased Advance in December 1911 (Rumely also bought Gaar-Scott…

For 35 years, I taught in a small rural high school during the school year and worked on my uncle’s farm in the summer. Most people would describe the school, located 40 miles from the nearest town, as “being out in the wilderness.” Although it drew students from miles around, the student body size averaged about 75 kids in grades nine through 12. Obviously, there were few teachers. Each one of us had to be qualified to teach several subjects. For example, I taught five different subjects in a six-period day. Although most of my training was in social studies, I was required to teach speech (actually, public speaking) to the juniors. Since everyone needs to learn to express himself clearly, students were required to take the class. Studies have…