Rathsay, Minnesota
IM SORRY I FORGOT TO to send my renewal. It certainly was not
intentional. I think the ALBUM is interesting and I like it very
much.
I am not an old timer in steam power. I am 23 years old. That
does not dampen my interest in the least. I own one steam rig which
for about 3 years and have fixed it up fairly good. I had lots of
work to do on it as the water tank, platform, and coal bunkers were
entirely gone. So I had to build new ones and that is a big job on
the Case, as you know. Especially the contractors style. After an
awful lot of work I finally got it good enough so we could use it
at a Reunion last Fall (1957).
It was one of the 11 engines at the West Central Steam Threshers
Reunion at Dalton, Minesota. This Reunion has enjoyed four years of
continuous growth and this year had a much larger attendance than
any previous year. We hope to make it better next year and I think
it will be as we will have a few more engines. One is already
hauled in, 30 hp. double simple M. Rumely. This is a big engine. It
weighs 19 tons and that is without side tanks and platform. This
should make a dandy engine for the 10-bottom plow that they use
every year at the Reunion.
We also have a big Reunion at Rollag. It gets bigger and better
every year. They had 11 steam engines and a bunch of old gas
tractors. One of the highlights of the Reunion there was the scale
model Oil Pull tractor built by Elmer Larson. It is really exact
and is a wonderful piece of workmanship. Also the scale of a 28
inch Case steel thresher built by N. B. Nelson, which is about as
exact as it can be and threshes grain like nobody’s
business.
I had one interesting experience last Fall besides the two
Reunions. This was taking part in the threshing operation on the
Anderson farm near Christine, North Dakota, where they still thresh
from stacks and use a 35 hp. double Buffalo Pitts which was new in
1905 and has threshed every year since with the exception of one.
They also did some breaking. This engine is fired with straw just
like the old days. They have a 40-64 wood frame Northwest separator
which has a geared blower and a short canvas feeder.
This was a very interesting experience to me, although I was
there only a short half day. It is the first time I really helped
with some old time steam threshing. It is quite different here than
at the Reunions. This is what you can say is the real
‘McCoy’. Especially after you eat a big supper of good home
cooked food by lamp light.
