Old Threshers

My husband likes farming.  He also likes history.  So I couldn't have made the man happier when I agreed to a family day at Old Threshers!

Old Threshers is a club of collectors who have an extensive collection of antique equipment from days long ago.  I don't know a lot about the group, but I do know that there are several Old Threshers Reunions throughout the country every summer, so it's not just an Iowa thing.  The regional club owns some very special (usually larger) pieces within their own group and then allow individuals to bring in their restored equipment for the days of the reunion.  It ends up being a HUGE assortment of hundreds of pieces of various equipment from throughout farming history that covers acres upon acres upon acres.

Let's just say  Josh was like a kid in a candy store!  I don't think he could ever get tired of looking at equipment from days past and just marveling at how things have changed.

Ahhhh.... the good ol' days.

A picture of  Josh and the kids in front of a Farmall H.  I seriously could have gotten a picture of every John Deere and Farmall tractor model that has ever been made since the beginning of  tractor history had I wanted to.  But we'll just leave it with this one.

Not only do they have antique tractors, but a big draw to the reunion is the numerous numbers of steam engines they have on display.  This was the biggest steam engine there, owned by the Mount Pleasant Old Threshers.

And the tractors and steam engines don't just sit there.  The owners are all the time starting them up and running them around the grounds.  Among the attractions they have going on to observe is a working steam engine saw mill.

On one end of the setup is the steam engine.  About fifty feet away, straight in the opposite direction, is the saw mill.

They actually use the steam driven belts to saw tree trunks into planks.  It's very mesmerizing watching just how labor intensive it is.  And to see the engineering it takes to have the perfection of the right amount of steam from the engine, the right twists/tautness in the belts, everything set up just right on the saw.... it's amazing that not too long ago, this was all people knew! 

And it was LOUD!  Especially when the steam engine would blow its whistle to release extra pressure!

Nothing like the sound of a steam whistle, though!  At Noon, all the steam engine owners have their steam all built up and exactly at 12:00, they all blow their whistles at the same time.  It's pretty cool.

But not only do they have steam engines with their tractors, they also have a steam engine train:

 

Excited for a train ride!

Awwwwww.

There are train rides going on throughout the whole day, with certain special train rides offered at different times.  One of the special rides offered is one that has a hold up halfway through the ride, complete with cowboys, sheriffs and bank robbers.  We chose not to go on that ride, but did stand on the sidelines to watch.

And not only are there trains to go along with the tractors and steam engines, there are also vehicles (but just a very few!):

 

The boys wasted no time in eying the Jeep!

MY next ride!

And along with the tractors, steam engines, trains and vehicles is the equipment selection to look at:

This is an old threshing machine.  The same kind they used in our grandparents' day.  Someone in the neighborhood would own one and travel from farm to farm with their thresher and steam engine doing all the neighbor's fields.  Neighbors would help neighbor until everyone was done.  It was quite a different day back then!

So, not only were there tractors, steam engines, trains, vehicles and equipment to gawk at, but there was all the indoor displays as well:

There were dozens of large displays to learn from, but this one fascinated me the most.  It was the history of forage and corn harvest.  There was too much information and too many displays of history to share all of them on this blog, but I'll share a few pictures.  This picture is of a blower they would have used decades ago.  They would blow the chopped forage up the chute....

 

...and into a picket silo that got built up as it filled up.

 

This is a corn cutter built at the original Dain Manufacturing Company in Ottumwa, which eventually became John Deere.

Farmers didn't combine their corn back then.  They used the corn cutter to cut the corn and the put it into shocks like this.  Once the corn was cut and shocked, it could stay there stored until they went through and gathered the ears of corn by hand.  It always amazes me how much physical labor was put into work back in those days!

An old square baler.  Notice there's the guy driving the tractor, but there are also two men sitting on the sides of the baler.  Before balers were engineered with knotters inside the balers, men (or I imagine kids and women, too) would sit on either side of the baler and manually tie knots in the twine around the bales to keep them together.

Gathering loose hay.

 

Chopping.  This actually doesn't look too far off from what we still do today!  Just not in black and white... we have color these days!  ;-)

Every time I see a display like this, I can't help but shake my head at the work men of that time did.  I am so thankful that my husband and the other men folk in my farming families don't have to put their bodies through that strenuous labor they did thirty, forty and fifty years ago!

Every make of equipment had a little "museum" to go through to see its history.

There was also an interactive cutout of a steam engine to teach us just how the thing works.

And an interactive kids model to show them how the steam eventually works all the moving mechanisms in a piece of equipment.

Okay, so not only did they have tractors, steam engines, train, equipment, vehicles and indoor displays to look at, they also had a fully functioning steam driven engine that operated in factories:

This thing was big, loud and HOT!

And finally, along with the tractors, steam engines, train, equipment, vehicles, indoor displays and fully functioning factory steam driven engine, they also had a carousel....



This is what Sarah Rose looked forward to doing ALL day!  I'm sure she thought it was worth every penny of the $1.00 of her lemonade stand money she used to purchase the ticket!

 

Pretty interesting story of the steam driven carousel.

And the steam engine that powers the carousel. 

 

Despite the heat of the day (it was still very hot then!), it was an enjoyable day.  We all had a fantastic time and came away with a lot of memories.  We even learned a few things.  It's probably not something we'll do every year, but will be something to look forward to enjoying again sometime.