Full Steam Ahead

“I hooked the Case to the threshing machine and drove about 13
miles to town for the parade,” David says. “Afterwards, I stopped
in the city park where several others joined me and we had a little
show.” For the next few years, the steadily growing power show
became the highlight of the Fourth of July in Menno. When it began
to overshadow other Independence Day activities in the small South
Dakota town, it was moved to September. Within just a few more
years, the annual event outgrew Menno’s city park.

“We had been filling up the park and spilling into the streets,
which caused traffic problems and other safety concerns,” David
says. So the group organized as the Menno Pioneer Heritage
Association (MPHA), and bought their own land on the north edge of
town. The location, aptly named Pioneer Acres, is now permanent
home to several historic buildings, steam engines, a sawmill and
many other pieces of machinery, in addition to the show.

The 18th annual show, held Sept. 25-26, 2004 drew thousands of
visitors, several hundred exhibitors, and offered displays,
activities and demonstrations to pique everyone’s interests.
Minneapolis-Moline equipment, Gade Bros. engines and Chevrolet
vehicles were featured. Toys, models and memorabilia were also in
good supply. Spectators were treated to many exciting
demonstrations, including steam plowing, tractor pulling, wheat
milling and cake baking – the old-fashioned way. “We are proud of
the show, because it offers so much variety,” says Willard Zeeb,
Menno resident and long-time show supporter. “Be sure to get a
piece of chocolate cake at the summer kitchen.”

History comes alive

“I think of myself as a historian, not a collector,” David says,
and the MPHA’s bylaws continue to reflect his founding commitment
to preserve and to educate. The group accomplishes that and more
through a rich variety of living history demonstrations at the
show. “It’s one thing to look at things, and it’s another to see
how they were used,” Dave adds.

Each year, the women of the MPHA create a living display
relating to some aspect of early American home life. For example,
in 2003, the Women’s Building at Pioneer Acres bustled with
demonstrations of old ways of washing clothes and included a
soap-making demonstration. For 2004, the ladies created a summer
kitchen that featured cooking techniques and tools of yesteryear.
Marilee Hauck, Rita Hoff, Morna Anderson and Donna Zeeb outdid
themselves with demonstrations of vintage egg-handling devices and
displays of vintage gadgets, but the highlight of their exhibit was
definitely the scratch-made chocolate cake baked to perfection in a
Kerogas brand oven atop a three-burner kerosene stove made by
Kenmore. Yum! Whole wheat bread was another treat that the women
coaxed from their kerosene cooker. Now, just where does that flour
come from?

The Pioneer Power show has had a flour-milling exhibit for many
years; however, for 2004 the ancient stone-mill was moved indoors.
“In the past we ground wheat outdoors,” Gerold Mettler, MPHA
chairman says with a chuckle. “Rain and flour milling don’t mix
very well though.” MPHA members felt that the new structure was
“kneaded” to help avoid a doughy mess in the future. The new Mill
House, built by volunteers with salvaged lumber, was designed to
look like an old storefront. The design also includes a small
access door specifically for flat belt access, so the mill can be
run by an engine or tractor from outside.

Up the hill from the flour grinder, volunteers milled wood for
the first time inside the recently completed Sawmill House. This
building, now home to the MPHA’s Enterprise sawmill and edger, has
space for a shingle mill, planer and even more wood processing
tools, which they plan to add in the near future. “We try to add
something each year, to give people a reason to come back,” Gerold
says.

Hundreds of enthusiasts streamed past the MPHA’s three
permanently-installed steam engines. David Mensch donated the
largest of the engines, a 300 hp model built in 1908 by the Murray
Iron Works of Burlington, Iowa. The beast features a 12,000-pound
flywheel and a Corliss-designed valve mechanism. “The Murray came
out of a light plant at Walnut, Iowa,” Dave says. The 36,000-pound
giant dwarfs the organization’s two smaller engines – a Skinner
Uniflow with Baker valve gear, and an Erie Iron Works low-pressure
engine. The MPHA recently installed a soy-diesel-fired Kewanee
Scottie Junior 59 hp boiler to power all three engines. Engineer
Rick Barber kept the steamers running and cheerfully answered
thousands of questions. “I have been interested in steam engines
ever since I was a kid,” the Luverne, Minn., man says. “I am
thrilled to be able to operate these three.”

David Mensch’s 65 hp Case steam tractor was noticeably absent
from the show last September. “We found the boiler to be marginal
during its inspection, so we tore the engine down to replace the
boiler,” Dave explains. “It’ll be a couple of years before we get
it all cleaned up and back together.” Dave’s Case and 8-bottom John
Deere sod-busting plow have been a big hit at past shows.
Steam-plowing enthusiasts were not disappointed though.

Dick and Lee Burd, generous MPHA supporters from Canton, offered
their 1912 120 hp Avery to stand in for the temporarily infirm
Case. The huge Avery, once owned by the Ringling Brothers Circus,
was designed to pull up to 14 14-inch plow bottoms through virgin
prairie sod. Coupled to Dave’s 8-bottom plow, the Avery had power
to spare as it huffed back and forth across the bright green field,
turning it black.

The Menno Pioneer Power show isn’t only about living history
though. The ever-popular event continues to attract quality
exhibitors whose creative displays make for some interesting
investigation.

Exquisite exhibits

Although they are quite rare, at least nine Gade Bros.
stationary engines were on display at the show, and most of them
were operational. Gade engines, built in Iowa in the early 1900s,
were unusual at the time because of a unique air-cooling system
that pumps outside air through the cylinder between power strokes.
With the exhaust exiting at the base of the cylinder, Gades are
often mistaken for early 2-cycle models. The Gade engine’s
innovative 4-stroke design never really caught on, but it kept them
plenty cool.

Among the Gades in attendance, John Rigter’s beautifully
restored 2 1/2 hp model was a real standout. When John obtained the
engine, it needed some serious work. “I gave it new bearings, rod
bushings and pins and new piston rings,” John says. When describing
the cooling system, the Williams, Iowa, resident notes that when
the engine isn’t operating under a load, you can rest your hand on
the fins without getting burned.

Dave and Kristi Martensen enjoy collecting burr mills, small
shellers and stationary engines, and they combine them all into a
fine working exhibit. For the Pioneer Power Show, the Leigh, Neb.,
couple belted their 1 1/2 hp Gade to a Stover burr mill for a
flour-grinding demonstration. “We have about 16 restored engines,
and a similar number of mills,” Dave says. “We thought it would be
neat to power one of them with our Gade since it is the featured
engine.”

Don Buehner of Canistota collects all kinds of things, but he
selected an interesting group of hand tools and barn pulleys to
exhibit at Menno. “I’ve been collecting for over 20 years and found
a lot of this stuff in boxes that I got at sales,” Don explains as
he hands down one of his many riveters for closer inspection. Don’s
collection of beautifully refinished pulleys, shiny bit braces and
freshly lacquered riveters provide clear insight into how things
were done in the past.

Kermit and Marion Ehrenberg cleverly arranged scores of colorful
drill and seed-box endplates in a display trailer that offered
show-goers a close-up look. Some of the brightly painted iron
pieces bore familiar names like Superior, Cockshutt,
Minneapolis-Moline and John Deere, while others had the mark of
lesser-known companies such as Bickford and Huffman, L.R. Knapp and
Buckeye. A little investigation reveals that while Kermit enjoys
the cast-iron caboodle, it’s really Marion’s interest. “The seed
box stuff is really my wife’s province,” Kermit explains with a
smile. “I enjoy building and showing scale models.”

Kermit’s models include quarter-scale 1937 International
Harvester F-20, 1938 John Deere G and 1934 Allis-Chalmers tractors,
along with a number of accessory items such as tools, anvils and
hammers. Although the models are small, they are no lightweights.
The F-20 tips the scales at more than 100 pounds, while the John
Deere and Allis-Chalmers weigh in at about 60 and 45 respective
pounds. “I got smarter about working the metal as I got more
experienced,” Kermit says of the weight variations. Kermit has also
made tiny wrench sets, hammers and brand-marked anvils to accompany
each of the tractors.

Speaking of models, Willard Zeeb again had part of his fine
collection of patent models, display models and salesman’s samples
on display at Pioneer Acres. Willard’s collection was featured in
the July 2004 issue of Farm Collector, and he is happy to
report that he has now obtained a salesman’s sample baler. Willard
enhances his display with strategically located mirrors for
underside viewing and hidden motors that bring the models to
life.

Back to the future

This year’s Menno Pioneer Power Show will be held Sept. 24-25 at
Pioneer Acres, just north of downtown Menno, S.D. The show will
feature Allis-Chalmers tractors, Maytag engines and Buick cars and
trucks. The MPHA intends to have several new exhibits at Pioneer
Acres for 2005, and they hope to complete a reconstruction of the
old Hutchinson County Jail building to enclose the cellblock, which
has already been moved to the site.

For more information on the Menno Pioneer Power Show, or to
learn how to join the Menno Pioneer Heritage Association, call
Gerold Mettler at (605) 387-2323; or write MPHA, P.O. Box 452,
Menno, SD 57045; or visit their website at
www.pioneeracres.com

– Oscar “Hank” Will III is an old-iron collector and
freelance writer who retired from farming in 1999 and from academia
in 1996. He splits his time between his home in Gettysburg, Penn.,
and his farm in East Andover, N.H. Write him at 243 W. Broadway,
Gettysburg, PA 17325; or call (717) 337-6068; or e-mail:
willo@gettysburg.edu