A Man And His Library

In the picture I’m re-reading my first copies of the Farm
Album Magazine which I received from Elmer Ritzman, editor.
Apparently, my name was forwarded by a friend, Loren Badger, of
Council Bluffs, Iowa, who owned a 6HP Case portable and worked as a
parts clerk at the J. I. Case branch house just across the Missouri
River from Council Bluffs. Yes, I subscribed immediately, with the
back issues too. Elmer said he had to borrow back one season copy
to fill this back issue set. Referring back to the picture, the
book I am holding contains the first Winter, Spring, Summer and
Fall which contained about 16 pages each all for a subscription of
$1.00 a year! These four volumes in this book, containing 16
magazines, made a thickness of about ³/₈
inch. The next ring bound booklet of volumes 5 & 6 had its name
changed to The Iron Men Album. This magazine increased to a
thickness of about ¹/₂ inch resulting from
the increase of extra pages etc. with 6 copies per year of 16 to 20
pages each. At $1.50 for a year’s subscription it must have
been a break-even enterprise for Editor Elmer and Catherine and Mr.
and Mrs. Ralph Robb (publishers of the Juniata Globe who printed
the magazine at that time). They, at the Juniata Globe, Thompson
town, Pennsylvania, bound my first two books with the plastic ring
method for $3.00 postpaid.

After that, I have had a bookbinding company near here at
Atlantic, Iowa, hard-bound my magazines in book form with two to
three volumes in each. It was with sadness last week that I learned
of the passing of Mr. Albert Hjartshoj, 71, the operator of this
book-binding firm. He and his helpers are deaf. Mr. Hjartshoj had
earned many accomplishments all of his own with many awards such
as: the Hall of Fame of the Midwestern Athletic Association of the
Deaf; also the Gold Hand Award of the National Association of the
Deaf. Needless to say, their work was perfection. A yearly visit
with my work required no instruction, just a smile, few motions, a
wave and a nod.

The second publishing adventure Gas Engine Magazine was started
in January 1966 by Elmer at the age of 76.

Sure, the GEM group has taken over a little, but the IMA has
fathered most of the heritage and farm related shows all over
America.

Going back to the beginning for the Farm Album it kind of
started with the creative idea of Perry Hayden, a Quaker flour
miller of Tecumseh, Michigan, with the idea of tithing of the
Biblical wheat story and threshing. (John 12:24). (See page 1,
Volume 1, #4 of the Farm Album). Starting with a seeding or cubic
inch of wheat seed (about 360 kernels) planted in a plot of about 4
to 8 feet, reseeding and tithing of 90% of the crop in succeeding 2
years got to be more than Hayden could handle. Henry Ford heard
about it, came to his rescue, and furnished land and equipment.

On July 22nd, 1944, at Tecumseh, Michigan, a threshing harvest
was arranged by Hayden and Ford with equipment out of Henry’s
museum. Elmer was invited to witness this which possibly motivated
him to start the magazine.

This venture was continued until 1946 when the acreage had
gotten so big it had to be seeded on several farms around Adrian,
Michigan. The final threshing was done from a 9-acre field at
Adrian Fairgrounds with most of the threshing equipment from the
Henry Ford Museum. It was estimated that if this was continued for
13 good consecutive seedings, it would require all the tillable
land from the face of the earth. (I have a suggestion: some of
these stories from past issues should be reprinted.)

Scene at ‘Dynamic Kernels’ Threshing July 1944. Left to
right: Henry Ford II, Perry Hayden, Henry Ford and Gov. Harry Kelly
of Michigan. Photo reprinted from Fall 1947 Farmers Album.

Back in June 1948, I persuaded my brother-in-law and sister to
attend LeRoy Blaker’s 4th Reunion at Alverton, Ohio, since it
was an afternoon’s driving distance from East Lansing,
Michigan, where he was attending college. They brought back colored
slides and 16mm movies, etc. of the event which included GEM editor
Elmer and Catherine, Mr. Blaker, L.K. Wood and others whom I read
about and later had the privilege of meeting at the Old
Settler’s Reunion at Mt. Pleasant, Iowa.

Two years later in August, 1950, while making our way to Dan
Zehr’s show in Pontiac, Illinois, we stopped for awhile at Ray
Ernst farm at Wayland, Iowa. He was preparing a Rumely engine that
day for the Old Settlers Reunion, to be there for the first show at
Mt. Pleasant, Iowa.

Progressing later through the years as these activities
increased, likewise the magazine and so did the number of more
local shows all over the country. It is unrealistic that the
International J. I. Case Heritage Foundation Expo, which organized
at Pawnee, Oklahoma, in 1987 was born to jointly celebrate more or
less the upcoming 40th Anniversary shows like the respected
Association of Rough and Tumble this August, 1988 at Kinzers,
Pennsylvania.

Illustration courtesy of Steve Davis, RD 2, Box 842, West
Winfield, NY 13491.

For myself, I own a 50-Case #33991, and a friend of mine, Mr.
Quentin Shultz of Griswold, Iowa, also has a 50-Case #33992 the
only consecutive serial numbers in traction steam we know of in any
make or size. (Refer to 1971 March/April issue Volume 25, #4 page
9)

In reminiscing about the early history of steam power and the
wheat as well as the starting of the magazine, I’d like to use
this means to commend the editors, co-editors, plus all the helpers
and everyone responsible for a magazine with many articles written,
or submitted by readers, which has kept us inspired, helping us to
relive past experiences as well as renew enthusiasm. So for a job
well done, I’d like to say ‘thanks’ to each and
everyone for the privilege of me being able to have a complete
collection of the Farm Album and Iron Men Album.