P. O. Box 323, Hutchinson, Kansas
On the morning of August 27th, 1954 Mr. Elmo Mahoney phoned us
from Dorrance, Kansas, (over in Russell County, which is nearly 100
miles from us) that he is going to have his Big Avery 30 hp. under
mounted steam engine belted to the big 42×72 Avery Yellow Fellow
Separator (the last one built by the old Avery Company) to thresh
invited to be present.
Mr. V. H. Stroud of 319 E. 16th, Hutchinson, Kansas, and the
writer, took out at 6 A. M., on the morning of August 27th and got
to Mahoney’s field, laying along the north side of U. S.
Highway 403 miles west of Dorrance. We arrived just in time to help
make setting and were given jobs taking care of the engine. Mr.
Stroud was Engineer, myself water monkey-fireman and photographer.
We had lots of company all day being next to U. S. highway 40,
quite a number of tourists stopped in. The one from the far the
rest point away I talked to, was a Mechanic and his wife from Las
Vegas. He said this was the top of the list of highlights on their
trip back from Detroit, Mich.
Since Mr. Mahoney has several good friends in the Navy based
three miles from the writers home, these friends being Captains
came over to our threshing site in one of the Navy’s big
4-motor Privateers and gave us some real good salutes. Mr. Mahoney
is one of Kansas’s best wheat farmers being awarded the title
‘Kansas Wheat King’ for several year she farms some 900
acres. He is a very understanding man, hence very popular as an
honest-to-goodness congressional candidate from our State’s 6th
District, which contains 17 counties out of the 105 counties which
make up our state. He is also a flying farmer with his Cessna 140
plane.
Let it be known Mr. Mahoney led all the way until the next day.
His opponent won by a very few votes.
Mr. Mahoney’s family background shows the Mahoneys were
pioneer Kansans. The senior Mahoneys were Charter customers of the
Avery Company of Peoria, Illinois, way back in the Good Old Days.
They continued big users of Avery machinery the entire life of the
Avery Company.
Salute Mahoney for Governor in 1956!
