“I was the boy” story continues
Just catching up on my reading and got a big kick out of the piece “I Was the Boy” by Hal Higgins (Farm Collector, July 2022). Let me tell you the rest of the story.
Don Hunter from Southern California started with a crankshaft and 19 pages of drawings and reconstructed Holt No. 111. It made its debut at the Best Show on Tracks in 2008.
The operator was busier than a one-armed paper hanger. There is a lever to operate the tiller with steam power. As I recall, there are two clutches that allow it to be steered differentially, just like a modern crawler. The throttle must be continuously adjusted to maintain a steady speed, and there was a forward/reverse lever.
In real life, there was an operator and a fireman on the job when the machine was being used in the field.
The legend of the Yellow Fever is part of the No. 111 story. Mr. Hunter passed away in 2012. The machine is currently housed at the Pioneer Museum in Paso Robles, California.
No. 111 will make an appearance at the Best Show at Santa Margarita, California, on Memorial Day weekend next year.
Galynn Ferris, Montgomery, Texas
No fond memories of Clipper combine
My dad, sort of a frugal chap, bought a well-used Clipper self-propelled combine (Farm Collector, September 2022) and I became the operator by default. Several things come back to mind. First off, the engine hiding in chaff underneath ought to have been installed with big wingnuts, to make it easier to remove, which happened often.
Then, on to the screw jack-type lifting mechanism on the platform. If you did not grease this liberally and regularly, the unit would neither lift nor lower. A 2-foot pipe wrench was standard equipment, used to back up the cylinder when slugged, which was not a rare event.
Steering was via cables, which ran alongside the machine and back to small wheels in the rear, to rotate worm and sector for steering. Turning while stopped was out of the question. One year, Dad decided we should thresh sweet clover. Trying to get 12-foot windrows of fluff into the machine was akin to putting cotton candy in a thimble!
Lastly, cooling was minimal. A long, square tube with a screen on top went down to the engine. In 100-degree days and full sun, the tube was too hot to touch, hence the air inside was already preheated before it tried to cool the engine. Thus, the engine would get over-warm, rings would lose their temper and the engine would be slid out for rebuilding again (the rings were not the only thing to lose their temper!).
Jim Lacey, Dell Rapids, South Dakota
Check-row planting and a restoration
I was reading the latest Farm Collector magazine and saw the article on check-row planting. I remember my dad did some check-row planting when I was growing up on a farm in South Dakota. I remember you had to be very careful to place the stake on the end of the field in a perfect line or the cross rows would be out of alignment. The second thing I remember was the rough ride on the tractor the second and third cultivating times as you were bouncing over the shovel marks from the previous trip through the field.
A couple years ago while pheasant hunting in South Dakota, I came across a very old Deere & Mansur check-row planter buried in the ground from sitting there for so many years. I believe it dates to about 1905. The Deere & Mansur planter later became just a John Deere planter with some modifications. I managed to buy it from the guy who owned it and completely restored it. I’ve enclosed photos of the planter as I found it and after restoration.
I enjoy reading your magazine as it always has some unique articles.
Roger Pavlis, Hudson, Wisconsin
Does this steam engine look familiar?
This amazing picture of a steam engine came from a family farm in Erie, Kansas. I found it while going through my mother’s pictures. Two of the sons of this family (my grandmother’s nephews) were thrilled to have these, as many of their family photos were lost over the years. They are 82 and 90 years old and grew up on their parents’ farm which was adjacent to (or part of) the farm where these were taken. Their father is in one of the pictures as is my grandmother, so we are guessing it was taken between 1918 and 1920.
Janet Marciniak, 29 Wayne St., Norwich, CT 06360;
Jmarciniak006@gmail.com
Steam engine identified
The photo shows an early 1900s Aultman & Taylor steam traction engine, 60hp on the belt and 20hp pulling with its drawbar. It was the largest of that series.
We own and operate one identical to it at our Yamhill County Heritage Center here in McMinnville, Oregon. Ours is completely restored and operates and looks like new. It is a well-designed and -built machine for 1912. Yes, your engine looks familiar: Ours is identical, except for the headlight.
Frank Schurman, restoration volunteer,
Yamhill County Historical
Society & Museums
Editor’s note: Thanks, Frank: We appreciate feedback from folks like you!
Have an idea of what this was used for?
We bought this at a farm auction in the Twin Lakes area of north central Arkansas. We wondered if it had anything to do with construction of dams in that area. It is approximately 3 feet in diameter and 4 feet long. There is no paint on it and it has no visible markings. We would appreciate any information.
Jim Froyck,
 jimfroyck@hotmail.com
Mill almost ready to use
I have this sugar cane mill nearly completely restored and am hoping to acquire some sugar cane to juice (and some to eat!) and make some syrup. I have seen only one more in existence. It is in Florida, and the person who took the picture of it had no information on its origin or owner.
Carl J. Manuel, 1251 Co. Rd. 250,
Weimar, TX 78962; (979)733-2100;
carljmanuel@msn.com
Guessing cider press was produced by the thousands
I own a cider press exactly like the one featured in the October 2022 issue of Farm Collector. My grandpa’s farm is about 30 miles from Marcus, Iowa, and I remember it being old when I was a child in the 1950s. In a recent tour of the Stone Hill Winery in Hermann, Missouri, I found another one. Both have the flip-up cleaning feature. So, speculation about these “no name” presses being sold by Montgomery Ward & Co. or Sears, Roebuck & Co. is probably correct. There were probably thousands made and sold at one time.
There was no evidence of paint on the one from Hermann. I had to replace most of the wood on mine, so it is no wonder that mine has no paint. One thing common between the two: the top piece was made from 2-inch unfinished oak. It would seem more than a coincidence that both have the same rough wood for a platform to bolt the iron.
Ken Hansen, Smithville, MO 64089
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