Rothsay, Minnesota
Through Norman Nelson of Rollag, Minn., I learned about the
ALBUM. I have been a reader for sometime and enjoy it very
much.
I am sending you some pictures of an old steam threshing rig
still in operation here in the Red River Valley. These pictures
were taken on October 7, 1953. This threshing rig is owned by Carl
and Joe Anderson of Christine, North Dakota.
They stack their grain and then in the late Fall they will
choose some nice day and do their threshing. In the late Fall when
plowing and other work is done, help is more plentiful.
Because I have threshed for 46 seasons I was interested in
seeing this outfit at work. We drove out 30 miles on their
Threshing Day. It was interesting and time well spent.
This is a Buffalo Pitts double 35hp. straw burner and has been
out since the year 1905.
You will notice in the picture this engine has a double straw
chute or two straw chutes side by side.
The man with the straw fork pushing the straw into the chute is
Danny Roan of Hickson, North Dakota. He is a collector of steam
engines. He has several, mostly large engines.
This separator is a Northwest 40×64 wood frame. It has the
perfection Dakota style weigher and wagon loader in common use 40
years ago. It also has the old style bevel gear type blower. This
separator has been out since 1908 and was built at Stillwater,
Minn., by the Northwest Thresher Company, which has been out of
business about 40 years.
This separator has been well housed and the wood frame is sound.
It still has the original paint with the lettering and numbers
showing plain.
I would like to see these pictures in the ALBUM as it will
remind the readers of the years gone by when the big steam rig was
the King of the fields.
