In July we had the pleasure to take in Justin Hingtgen’s
Show at LaMotte, Iowa. This affair is well planned and activity is
continuous. The various events keep you so occupied you don’t
get tired from loafing around. Since Hingtgen is primarily engaged
in logging and sawing, he featured sawing lumbers, lathes and
shingles, and equally interesting was the veneer mill. These
Threshing with three rigs and shredding corn with C. B. Killings
little 2 roll Rosenthal was all in keeping pace with the run of
reunions. Perhaps two major attractions are steam plowing with a 14
bottom plow and the ramp climb by Harry Wood-manse. Numerous other
activities and a display of old machines make this a show worth
circling on your calendar. Had a nice visit with Ray Ernst. Said he
felt just fine now that reunions got underway; one can forget the
many little problems that seem to plague us in the winter months.
Then too he said his oats yielded 90 bushels per acre; so corn
isn’t all that comes ‘tall’ in Iowa. Says he, ‘If
you had a carload of money and no friends you would still have
nothing’. How right he is. Durward Stienmetz introduced me to
Golden Stewart from the Grand Old Opera at Nashville. Golden was in
charge of Hingtgen’s 30 Case #21693. He once owned this engine
or one identical to it. The girls playing with Justin’s 30 Case
are Jill Stienmetz at the steering wheel, her mother Koletta and
sister Peggy, with Kathy Hingtgen at the levers. LeRoy Levine from
DeKalb, Ill, introduced me to his partner Louis V. Johnson, a
locomotive engineer on the ‘Milwaukee Road’. They were in
charge of that mighty 40-120 Avery Undermounted pictured plowing.
The next picture was taken as Woodman see tackled the incline with
Ray Kammerer’s 45 Case.
Progress and education are to me two controversial issues. There
is more emphasis on education than ever, and yet the Golden Rule
which is in accordance with the Bible is gradually losing its
importance to daily living. When we as a nation misplace our trust
we are indeed heading for a downfall. To what avail a college
degree and yet no brotherly love? Progress in its modern sense
certainly is not without penalty. The study of birds has always
intrigued me. While going down the surfaced highways it grieves me
to see how many birds are killed by modern cars. I believe it safe
to say on our way to LaMotte I saw one dead bird per mile average.
I rather doubt that replacement would even match such destruction
of wild life not to mention the natural enemies such as cats, fox,
weasels and the trigger happy hunter. TV towers kill millions of
birds annually as they migrate at night. Very noticeable too is the
lack of birds, frogs and bees in farm fields and roadsides. Farmers
who have already cut their second crop of hay by the last of July
almost eliminates the possibility of field birds nesting on the
ground to even hatch one brood of young. Without a doubt weed and
brush spraying as well as the use of pesticides have indirectly
taken a terrific toll, and that even to the pollution of waters.
Somehow the less desirable species such as starlings, English
sparrows and blackbirds have kept pace with modern man. A book has
been in print ‘The Silent Spring’, that sadly portrays the
day song birds are all but extinct. Here is a wild life problem
that unless our government takes some steps, we’ll soon find
out, ‘too little too late’.
Aug. 6-7 was the ‘Pioneer Days’ at Eau Claire which drew
a nice crowd. Here was Raymond Reed from Viroqua with his model of
a Case 65. Here I met Jack Fritcher from Lime Springs, Ia. He has a
20 hp Minneapolis #8649 and a 36′ thresher that he belts up for
his annual oat harvest. Wm. A. Ziegenhagen was there from Le Center
Minn. He has several engines including an old 12-36 return flue
Ames traction, a 9-30 Case that he bought from Earl Grice, a double
N. S. 20-75 side mounted and now owns a 20 hp Northwest, to get
home from the North Shore close to the Canadian border. One feature
of this Eau Claire show that struck my fancy was the tank wagon
that kept the 5 big engines in ample water supply. The Tankie was a
young man named Jerry Wathke from Rt. 1 using his faithful team of
mares, May and Sally. He had just watered Kurth’s 65 Case when
I snapped the picture. That’s Orrin Kurth by the tank wagon,
who I had several chats with. One time he came up with
‘Threshing without steam is like eating bread without
butter.’ So Right!
The world is full of willing people, some willing to work and
others willing to let them.
The Early Day Engine Show at Pine City in mid-August got fairly
rained out for the threshing part, but a good exhibit and meeting
old friends put it down as a worthy venture. Mr. and Mrs. Harold
Williams from Ada, Minn, were there. Harold wanted to see that 45
hp Mogul operate, and it is a rare specimen. It was nice to see
Alden and Martha Mourel from Milton Ia, and Lester Roos from
Geneseo Ill, there.
On Aug 20, we had the pleasure to attend a very nice wedding at
Chicago City, Minn. Linda Person exchanged vows with Douglas
Krause. Her mother Harriet and the late George Person have been our
friends from way back. Had a nice visit with Linda’s Uncle and
he came up with episode of the modern trend. Seems a large
Manufacturing concern was being modernized to produce goods by
machine automation, however the manager called a meeting of all
employees who now had their jobs at stake. Facing the multitude of
workers he stated that none of them would be laid off, that they
would still get the same pay, still enjoy previous fringe benefits,
but they would only have to report to work on Wednesdays. A moment
of silence and one worker stood up and asked ‘Every
Wednesday?’
The modern sage brags his financial worries are over when
he’s completely out of money.