Ohio Cultivator Stars at Wapakoneta Show

By Ron Fischer As Told To Leroy Peters
Published on April 1, 2011
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The restored Ohio Cultivator Co. stationary hay press on the job at the Buckeye Farm Antiques show, Wapakoneta, Ohio. The unit is powered by a 6 to 8 hp engine and produces a 36-inch, 175-lb. bale.
The restored Ohio Cultivator Co. stationary hay press on the job at the Buckeye Farm Antiques show, Wapakoneta, Ohio. The unit is powered by a 6 to 8 hp engine and produces a 36-inch, 175-lb. bale.
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Harlow Case Stahl
Harlow Case Stahl
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The hay press uses three wires. Ohio Cultivator produced hay presses in three sizes: No. 2A, 14-by-18 inches; No. 2B, 16-by-18 inches; No. 2C, 17-by-22 inches.
The hay press uses three wires. Ohio Cultivator produced hay presses in three sizes: No. 2A, 14-by-18 inches; No. 2B, 16-by-18 inches; No. 2C, 17-by-22 inches.
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Now retired (except during the club’s annual show), the Ohio Cultivator hay press is protected from the elements.
Now retired (except during the club’s annual show), the Ohio Cultivator hay press is protected from the elements.
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Before restoration. The bale chamber and axles had suffered extreme deterioration from rust.
Before restoration. The bale chamber and axles had suffered extreme deterioration from rust.
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 A Blackhawk corn planter.
 A Blackhawk corn planter.
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The Famous Ohio No. 25 manure spreader.
The Famous Ohio No. 25 manure spreader.
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 The Famous Ohio hay press.
 The Famous Ohio hay press.

In 1989 seven neighbors and I formed the Buckeye Farm Antiques show in Wapakoneta, Ohio. At first we rented a stationary baler from Paul Clay, Rockford, Ohio. That piece was eventually donated to the Van Wert, Ohio, club.

We began a serious search for a baler of our own in about 2002. Several years earlier we’d seen an Ohio Cultivator Co. hay press but we thought it was a piece of junk. We wanted a John Deere hay press and spent five years looking for one before resigning ourselves to the Ohio Cultivator unit.

This hay press was operated by Don Hager’s grandfather until about 1933, when it was loaned to a neighbor. It then went through a barn fire before ending up on a Mormon farm near Elida, Ohio. Jim La Rue found it in the woods with trees 2 to 3 inches in diameter growing up through it. He sold the baler to Don Hager and Don gave it to our club in 2003.

Restoring a rust bucket

I loaded the press to take to my father’s farm, where I planned to do the restoration work. That way my wife wouldn’t see what a piece of junk my next project was. When I arrived at my father’s farm, he took one look at it and told me, with a few farm-type words, to just keep on going to the junkyard.

Fortunately, like a few other times in my life, I didn’t listen to my dad. After he saw me start working on the press, my dad became very enthusiastic about helping me. Unfortunately, he did not live to see the finished product.

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