The steady click, click, click of the corn planter
The article by Sam Moore in the October 2022 issue of Farm Collector about check-row corn planting brought back many memories. I grew up in west central Illinois and with the 20- to 40-acre flat fields, check-row planting was the most popular method of planting corn. It was sort of an unofficial contest among the neighbors to have the straightest cross rows. Pulling the same tension on the wire each time the anchor stake was reset and driving the correct speed were important to getting a straight cross row. I recall my grandfather riding on the planter with a stop watch to determine what speed to drive to drop the ideal number of hills per minute.
My dad had a horse-drawn two-row John Deere planter that he had converted to pull with a John Deere Model B tractor. In about 1943, he bought a 1936 John Deere B to replace his last team of horses. The planter tongue was cut shorter and a quadrant lever mounted to the tongue that could be operated from the tractor seat. A tie rod connected the “new lever” to the original planter lift lever. A pull rope was attached to the trip mechanism to release the wire from the check-row head.
When I was 6 or 8 years old, I rode on the planter seat and “helped Dad” by pushing the wire release pedal when dad stopped at the end of the field. It was a stretch for me to reach the trip pedal. One time, I was getting into position to trip the wire when we were about 100 feet from the end of the field. I accidentally touched the pedal and released the wire. I instantly became my dad’s least favorite son as he had to hand plant about 5 to 10 hills to fill in the missed hills. I remember to this day the steady click, click, click of the corn planter.
James R. Smith, LaMotte, Iowa
Anyone know Easy Way hay loader colors?
Here at the Hancock County (Iowa) Agricultural Museum & Pioneer Village, we are restoring an Easy Way hay loader built by Sandwich Mfg. Co., Sandwich, Illinois, between 1912 and into the 1920s. The company was purchased by New Idea Co. in about 1930. We want to learn about the color scheme for this loader. The donor thinks the wooden parts may have been orange or light red. Perhaps scraping away more dried-up grease and dirt will help reveal the color of the wheels.
The loader has been in the same family since it was purchased new and was stored in a shed much of that time. Still, there is a lot of work to be done. Any help, advice or copies of brochures would be appreciated.
Darrell C. Schaper
(641) 843-4362
Remember when someone answered the phone?
I disagree with your “Looking Back” column in the November 2022 issue of Farm Collector. To me, the old way is better. I write letters regularly. I am tethered to a land line. The problem is not the land line: It is the answering part of the modern system. I used to call a number and someone would answer with the name of the company and ask, “can I help you?”
Today, all I get is “press one, two or three.” The message goes so fast that it is on “press eight” but I am still on “press two.” Finally get through and they say, “if you know a certain person, press one or two” etc. I long for the days when a person would answer my call.
John Heath
Sullivan, Ohio
Horse power brought back memories
The horse sweep power in the December 2022 issue of Farm Collector was of real interest to my 92-year-old uncle, Jack Bailey, a farmer and cowboy from way back. Jack said the drive rod from the gears to the driver machine was known as the “tumbling rod.” I saw a sweep working at a wonderful draft horse show in Bird City, Kansas, a few years ago. Thanks for your nice magazine!
Gary Bailey, La Veta, Colorado
Ice harvest tradition continued to at least 1960
This is my newlywed parents in 1919. In the background is an ice house. The house was built in 1901.
I was in the Michigan National Guard from 1952 to 1960. We were a quartermaster company, so we ran the ice house at Camp Grayling. It was still in use in 1960. Ice cut from Lake Margarete was kept there in sawdust.
Bird Vincent
Vincent Centennial Farm
Freeland, Mich.
Recognize this planter?
Does anyone recognize this planter? It has an August 11, 1885, patent date and a door on the side for filling. Seed is discharged through a slot in the center of the drum, but there is no control of that discharge and no way to stop it. Any help identifying this planter will be appreciated.
Clarence Gibbs
Inman, S.C.
(864) 594-9525
Sure enough, it’s a dairy centrifuge
In the January 2023 issue of Farm Collector, Clarence Gibbs inquired as to whether an item in his collection was a dairy centrifuge. We’ve heard in the affirmative from several readers, including Jerry Dekan, Arcadia, Wisconsin; Don Goetz, Akaska, South Dakota; Tom Walls, Martinsville, Indiana; Jack Simmons, Mt. Vernon, Illinois; and Donald L. Oaks, Billings, Montana.
“Where I grew up in southern Illinois in the 1940s,” recalls Jack Simmons, “all country stores would purchase cream from local farmers one day a week. Since many farmers would add water to their cream to make more pounds, the store would test the cream to determine the percentage of butterfat, and that was what they paid you for.”
Editor’s note: For more on dairy centrifuges and the process of making butter, read Jim Lacey’s article on Cream Stations and Antique Cream Separators.
Lister plow gave new seeds a chance
Regarding a photo of a check-row planter in the January 2023 issue of Farm Collector: Back in the 1940s, ’50s and ’60s, my uncle and aunt, Oliver and Ruby Hangen, farmed about 18 miles south of Huron, South Dakota, just off of the James River waterway, a very sandy and dry area. They planted corn, cane and sorghum in rows using a lister planter. The lister had a double moldboard share used mainly for seeding in areas of limited rainfall. The seeds were planted at the bottom of a V-shaped ditch made by the lister. In that way, any accumulating moisture ends up at the lowest part of the ditch, helping the seed grow. As the plant grows taller, maybe 10-12 inches high, then you used a special cultivator to roll some of the higher parts of the ridge down to strengthen the root systems.
The machine shown is adapted to remove the lister attachment and hoe, leaving just the normal shoe planter, also making it usable for checking corn. The roller on the left rear side of the planter was unwound across the field, staked at each end, and as you planted across the field, you moved the stake a certain amount at each end of the field, trying to keep the cross check straight. If you listed the crop, you could not cross-cultivate because of the ridges on each side of the V-shaped ditch.
Donald L. Oaks, Billings, Montana
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Originally published in the March 2023 issue of Farm Collector.
