At this point I feel like telling another episode in our lives.
In the fall of 1928 B. J. got wind of a threshing job by Assinaboia
and suggested we go with him to see about it. I did and we talked
to the owners. We both knew the young man that was going to manage
the run so we took the job. B. J. was to fire the double Garr
Scott, and 1 was to tend separator. After talking a bit we went
gent we talked to says there was a Dewhurst family south of
Assinaboia some years ago and this was their Buffalo Pitts
separator, well sir if I had not already been hired I would have
volunteered to tend it for free. It took a week to go get in shape
to run and it still looked like a junker with no paint. One morning
we fired up the Garr Scott and had a nice heat coming up with wood
and some old straw. They called dinner so we thought we had things
in order and went to eat. Soon someone said what’s all that
smoke? So we ran out and the straw bunk was burning off the engine.
We finally saved some of the frame and left a watchman while we
finished our eating. So now we still were not ready to thresh. The
old gent said to wrap some old binder canvas around the frame and
that we did, so the delay was short.
When we moved out we took a bunk car only with the rig. As I
said before the combines were coming in. One day we moved along the
north side of a field of wheat on a gravel road going east and a
combine was opening this field of 80 some acres and having lots of
trouble. We went on and crossed another road and set out in 160
acres of wheat. Things were going on normal with a reasonable north
west wind, nice and dry, and a black smoke came from the field
where the combine was just starting to make his second round. Fire
took the entire field of this man who used to be a thresh customer
on our run. The threshing picture with this story must have been
taken before the wheat fire as there is no smoke and the shocks are
close to setting and the straw pile is small. Things went well with
us on this short run that fall. We lost one blade off blower on a
new setting so we had no trouble finding it. We burned out a babitt
cylinder bearing and broke two concaves with no more spares left.
When we were all finished they wanted B. J. and me to take the rig
for our pay. We thought it over a couple days and said no. If it
were today I think I might have another answer. I threshed two more
crops in Sask. and still go there to visit old friends.
Uncle Eddie Dahl and I went to Saskatoon in 1962 and we thought
it was wonderful. I found one Port Huron there but it was smaller
than the one we had.
I make my home here in Crookston, Minn, with my family now and
all the threshing I do is over the table or when I go to one of the
doings around the country which is very active, of course I have my
little Russell here at my place and a good neighbor Geo. Lystrom,
across the street helps me with it at times. Uncle Eddie Dahl was
here and helped me a year ago.