Drawn to Oddities

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When Paul Fossler of Polo, Ill., bought his wooden-frame Eagle straw spreader in June 2001 at an estate sale five miles from home, he didn't know what it was but, he says, 'for $25, I thought I ought to own it.'

A number of people made guesses about the implement's identity that day, but Paul didn't get the right answer until he displayed his bargain in August, with a 'What is it?' sign, at the Franklin Grove, Ill., Thresheree, a small show about 30 miles from Polo.

'I see something at a sale,' Paul says, 'and if I don't know what it is (and I can identify a lot!), and if it's a reasonable price, I'll buy it. That's one of the interesting parts of this collecting thing.'

The man who identified the spreader was Charles Doty of Princeton, Ill., a retired implement dealer. He also owns an Eagle straw spreader, Paul says, and said he'd seen a third one, sold earlier at a central Illinois auction - for $380.

Charles shared information with Paul about the maker - Eagle Manufacturing Co. of Morton, Ill., which is just south and east of Peoria. First known as the Kramer Rotary Harrow Co. of Paxton, Ill., Eagle moved in 1915 from Paxton to Morton with Emil Kramer, founder of the firm, as manager.

By 1917, the business was flourishing, and selling not only rotary harrows but other farm implements, including the straw spreaders. In 1920, E.J. Leman was Eagle's secretary and general manager, as well as head of Manson, Campbell and Sons, a Detroit firm that also had moved to Morton and that produced a grain grading and cleaning device.

But by 1922, Eagle was in financial trouble; in January, the firm reorganized, and in February 1923, the fatal blow struck when the company's manufacturing facility burned to the ground. The fire loss was estimated at $125,000; Eagle never reopened.

Paul says he does not know how many Eagle spreaders were produced but he's sure the wooden ones preceded the metal models.

One of the company's advertisements for the spreader, which Paul received from Doty, explains the spreader's purpose: 'Every ton of straw has an actual cash value of from $4 to $5 as a commercial fertilizer. But straw has many other assets that make it even more valuable than when used as mulch. Its value as a crop protector against winter kill and drying up is beyond calculation.

'It is your best assurance of big yields. It's a soil mellower, a valuable source of humus and a reservoir of moisture. One ton will absorb two tons of water, besides what soaks in the ground. An even mulch of straw prevents soil-blowing and patchy spots. It will hold a protecting blanket of snow on wheat.'

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