We are taking: the following clipping from the Fulda Free Press
of Fulda, Minnesota, of July 31, 1958 Elmer
It is harvest time in the Fulda community, but not the same
harvest time of years gone by.
For F. W. Johnson, veteran thresherman, will not have a rig in
the field this seasonfor the first time in exactly sixty years.
F. W. did his first threshing in the community back in 1897,
when as a separator man, he worked on a steam rig. In a few years
he owned his own equipment, and year after year made the same
rounds, although the ring grew steadily smaller and smaller. This
season there is not enough commercial threshing to warrant getting
a rig ready. Last year he worked only nine or ten days.
As Frank remembers it, his biggest season was back in 1918 when
in 51 working days he threshed a total of 137,000 bushels of grain,
including oats and barley, and some flax. His average daily run was
around 2750 bushels, with a top day which saw 4,100 bushels run
through the separator. Frank was a ‘steam’ man and always
used a steam engine for power.
Frank still has equipment he could ready for the field, and it
is good to know that the old reliable thresher is still available
in case of an emergency.
