Minnie-Mo Steals the Show
(Page 2 of 3)
December 2003
Oscar H. Will III
Threshermen at work and play
RELATED CONTENT
Better Clear Off That Kitchen Table...
Arizona collector hits the road for 'dream trip'...
Collectors snatch unique offerings at Red Gaede estate auction...
B.F. Avery tractor line in the 1940s. Most of these 4-cylinder....
The influence of the Threshermens Association's sponsorship of the Minneapolis-Moline show was evident from the equipment demonstrations. Club members put up a bin of ear corn in the fall of 2002 used to feed two Minneapolis-Moline corn shelters during the show. These ingenious machines process ear corn in one end and deliver the grain, cobs and chaff to three separate locations. Modern combines accomplish all those tasks in addition to harvesting corn. An oat field and a wheat field, planted adjacent to the show grounds, also were harvested during the event. With plenty of ripe grain standing in the fields, vintage-harvesting machinery got quite a workout. Mike Klingbile of Lennox, S.D., cut oats with a Minneapolis-Moline M-96 pull-type windrower powered by a 1953 Model R tractor of the same make. The windrower and tractor are both owned by Fett Farms based in Lennox, and Phillip Fett, a club board member, was instrumental in hosting the Minneapolis-Moline show at Lennox.
The windrowed oats were processed with a Minneapolis-Moline Model 69 pull-type, pick-up combine owned by Randy Blass of Estherville, Iowa. Randy used Lloyd Raves' 1956 Minneapolis-Moline 5-Star tractor to power the combine. Although many people believe that pick-up combines are old-fashioned and antiquated, they're still used in regions where small grains must be cut in order to properly dry. Modern windrow pick-up heads are available for most combines, including some of the very largest. Even though self-propelled combines are widely available, not every farmer uses the machines, opting instead to continue using pull-type variants.
Phillip brought his 1950s vintage Minneapolis-Moline Model SP self-propelled combine to harvest wheat. Phillip's combine, with its open operator's station and round grain tank, is a good representation of an early, self-propelled combine. To many farmers, a day in the dust and noise from driving one of those machines was considered easy work compared with the labor-intensive cutting, binding, shocking and threshing processes. Not only was it easy to operate, the Model SP combine left the wheat straw in a nice windrow for easy baling.
Kevin Waltner's Uni-Farmor baler was one of the most-interesting pieces of equipment on hand. Kevin, from Freeman, S.D., brought his early 1950s Uni-Tractor and its Uni-Balor attachment, and he baled wheat straw behind Phillip's combine. The early Uni-Farmor system consisted of a tractor with the two large drive wheels in the front and a single tail wheel in line with the left front tire on the rear. The operator sat atop the left drive wheel, and the implement attached to the unit over the front axle, which extended to the right. The Uni-Farmor baling system was used by farmers who wanted to get the most out of their power unit. Attachments included a windrower, corn picker and sheller, forage chopper and corn husker. Minneapolis-Moline offered the Uni-Hoist and Uni-Carriage to help remove and move implements, and claimed that most implement changes could be accomplished in 30 minutes.