Pioneer

The reunion this year served a twofold purpose, first it was 100
years ago that a Mr. Rule bought a Gaar Portable steam engine and
did the first threshing with steam, in the neighborhood of Gings,
Indiana, in Rush County. Second, this reunion brought together the
threshermen who follow in the footsteps of Mr. Rule, to enjoy and
once more see the old time threshing outfits in action. Old
threshermen and their friends came from far and near to see again
the ‘good old days’ in action.

The Hannegan Church group furnished excellent meals during the
3-day show. Church services for Sun-day morning were conducted by
the Salvation Army of Rushville, Indiana.

Following is a list of the Engineers and owners of the old
machinery on exhibit at the reunion: Anthony Moorman and son, of
Greensburg, Indiana, 1920 20 hp. Advance-Rumley and a 1907 Case
portable built into a traction engine on a truck chassis; Oscar
affron and sons, Columbus, Indiana, 1923 20 hp. Minneapolis; Ray
Jones, Sunman, Indiana, 12 hp. Russell built in 1906; Noel Ertel,
Batesville, Indiana, 1917 Gaar-Scott double, 18 hp. George Meister,
Cincinnati, Ohio, a 1923 Huber 16 hp. road roller; Paul Alyea,
Greenfield, Indiana, 1928 19 hp. Keck Gonnerman; Nelson Howard, New
Castle, Indiana, 50 hp. Case built in 1922; Thomas Cartmel,
Waldron, Indiana, 1922 24 hp. Kitten; Keith Mauzy and Calvin
Whitaker, Middle-town and Pendleton, Indiana, 6 hp. Case portable;
Keith Mauzy, Middle-town, Indiana, Frick 16 hp. double built in
1916; Mac Keller, Garrett, Indiana, 1923 21-75 Port Huron; Lawrence
Porter, Rushville, Indiana, 1923 21-75 Baker, 1926 22 hp. Keck
Gonnerman; E. F. Deck, Knightstown, Indiana, 1920 20-75 double
Nichols & Shepard; Anthony Hood, Rushville, Indiana, 1930 19
hp. Keck Gonnerman; Jack Maple, Rushville, Indiana, 1919 60 hp.
Case Arthur Lucas, Cleremont, Indiana, 1911 50 hp. Case.

A groundhog thresher owned by the Club and still in operating
condition, it is very old; Aultman-Taylor hand feed with drag
stacker owned by Anthony Hood, built in 1875; all steel Minneapolis
owned by Jack Maple; a wood frame Russell separator owned by
Lawrence Porter, also a steel frame Baker separator; Wood Grizzle,
Newport, Kentucky, hand fed Geiser with drag stacker and half
bushel, built in 1900; a very old hand fed bean and wheat thresher
with drag stacker owned by Brunsman and Hartman of Sunman, Indiana;
a model steam merry-go-round owned by Chet Modesitt; a two-fifths
size model Reeves owned by Elmer Fenner; Arthur Fenner displayed a
Wach stoker engine with upright boiler; the Hamilton Machine Works,
a double Mason engine; John Bash one-third scale model Nichols
& Shepard engine; Carter Dalton had his one-third scale model
Case, model Nichols & Shepard rear mounted engine, model
separator; Carl Mc-Cloud a 6 hp. Huber rebuilt from a portable to a
traction engine and a model separator; Ralph Shellburne, models of
double and single engines, and model baler and water tank; Fred
Paul, a steam car upright boiler; Howard Burgess, wood models of
traction engines; Lawson and Sons, Keck-Gonnerman model separator;
Jackson Brothers, a Holsman high wheel automobile; Everett Huber,
Holsman automobile; B. S. Murry, Osgood, Indiana, a 1902 Rambler
automobile; Jack Maple and Lawrence Porter, 25-50 Oil Pull; Herman
Nunnaly, Rt. 1, Lebanon, Indiana, 25-50 Oil Pull; Donald Jackson,
Indianapolis, Indiana Heider Friction drive tractor cultivator;
yoke of oxen, Roy Craig, Portland, Indiana

Some people say these old threshermen are ‘ off their
rocker’ but having so much fun, we don’t even care.