May be winter months cut down on steaming, but it doesn’t
stop steam-talk. Gives me a chance to splice my movie films, paste
some prints and restock the scrapbook. Last fall Art Meisner of
Stillwater, Minnesota, brought up his copies of ‘Iron-Men
Album’ to be put in book form at the Frederic Bindery operated
by Clyde J. Hanson. He does a very neat job, choice of colors and
gold engravings with name on cover at $3.50 per book. Not too
surprising, Clyde showed me an order he had just received from my
friend O. W. Bowen of Woodman, Wisconsin. This would be Ori’s
second or third edition of IRON-MEN. Clyde tells me there are only
three Binderys in Wisconsin, the other two catering mostly to
schools on a big scale. Certainly this is a very fitting and
permanent way of keeping our ‘Albums’ handy and in good
order. Perhaps this ‘plug’ may be of help to other ALBUM
readers.
Then too, winter months always welcome transient visitors of
common interests. Had the pleasure to meet Woodrow Carlson, with
his wife and daughter Shirley, from Crookston, Minnesota.
Woodrow’s father owned a Huber steam rig (1917-’23) in this
nearby territory of Grantsburg, and now he was tracking down the
Huber Engine, which if I’m not mistaken is now featured at the
Dalton, Minnesota, show.
Seems the boys up in Red River Valley are doing things in a big
way. Woodrow tells me William Briden, Rt.4, Crookston, just bought
a 35 ton steam shovel. Now that’s a rare and powerful
showpiece!
C. M. Knudson, Gully, Minnesota, stopped in. He’s going
after gas engines in a big way – says he now has 75 and 25 more to
go. Came thru here tracking down some leads. He’s a member of
‘Early Day Gas Engine and Tractor Assoc.’ and gladly gave
me $2.00 to remit for subscription to IRON-MEN ALBUM – thanks, C.
M.
We (spouse and I) had chicken dinner at George Persons, Chisago
City, Minnesota, short time ago. The Ritz man’s had the
privilege of visiting these fine folks in July 1957. At that time,
George’s 20hp Russell No.14966 was really dismantled. (Before I
forget, greetings to Marsha from Linda.) This restored Russell
recently sold to Denny Magnuson, Center City, Minn. It has been
featured annually at Almelund Fireman’s Thresh Meet and thusly
will be retained in that territory. George is now restoring a very
rare 2 hp Lanson Lawton side shaft gas engine.
Seed catalogs and Spring and Summer ‘mail orders’ are at
hand, a reminder that spring is just around the corner. A pleasure
to till the soil again and a relief indeed to let cows out to
pasture. I now have a dozen old tractors to juggle the work. I
noted that in using my Massey Harris 4 W.D. I could dispense of the
marker on the corn planter, simply driving wheel in wheel track.
Now that’s where George Christian comes in – he was telling of
a Pete Schoen who came to this country in 1894 from Germany, and
settled near Bunker Hill, Illinois. He was a butcher by trade but
like many others, wanted to get in on that ‘good going’ in
America – planting corn was sompin new to him – and Pete tells how
‘Erst (1st) row sei crockadee and den sei and ere row more
crockadee crockadee’ – the nabers chuckled and asked him
‘how you gonna cultivate them crockadee rows.’ ‘Hi dats
nutting, I gonna use same team’– Well, come to cultivating he
broke the cultivator pole trying to follow the rows.
Our forefathers didn’t think much of working 16 hours a day
– we don’t either!!!
Farms are getting bigger — and that goes for the dairy
enterprise too. Like George Martin says – ‘all work and no
play, makes ‘Jack’ ‘ – as for me, I’m leaving well
enough alone.
Took in the ‘John Deere’ show at Centuria, on
elaborating on their big combine – Alice turns to me, ‘Did they
say thirty-six cylinder motor?’– ‘Didn’t you hear???
They said STURDY 6 cylinder motor.’
Lyman Mathews from Groton, South Dakota, stayed over on visit
here, had his 1910 gold watch and fob as mentioned in Elmer’s
Column; but Elmer didn’t tell it’s a Case 65 steam engine
fob.
Lyman told of a Methodist minister who was prospecting a church
in Groton back in the ’90’s, on stopping to talk to the
local blacksmith, Sam Ting, commented on the rather odd name.
‘Well’ Sam sez, ‘It vas dis vay — the Scandinavian
immigrants had names dat very often very similar — and in checking
off the boat the man ahead of me gave his name as Lars Larson and I
says mine vas ‘same ting’. Well, so he ended up with a name
that was different.
The publishers has a pleasant surprise for the Album Readers
last issue. That new paper and print sure deserves a
congratulations from us all. These copies can take more handling
and I can now read it easily without borrowing Alice’s
bi-focals. How about a little dope on that purple picture on
cover?
Economy — is a way of spending money without getting any fun
out of it!
