This picture was taken in approximately 1920 near Fisher,
Minnesota. The threshing rig and Peerless steam engine were brought
by rail to Fisher. The outfit was owned by John Everson, who did a
lot of threshing around Bygland and Fisher, Minnesota, with it. He
often hired ‘drifters,’ or willing workers (IWW) for the
crew. Occasionally a fight would start and John would settle them.
around here.
Sam Sorenson, who submitted the picture, used to watch the
threshing crew on his walk to and from school. He and two brothers
also on the picture, Soren and Obed (Obie) Sorenson. Also shown are
Lars and Martin Larson, Tom and Ole Olson, Ole Stallmo and Andrew
Peterson.
At left, photo found by one of our staff members in her
husband’s barn in northern Lancaster County. No details are
known on this photo. Does anyone have an ideas about its origin or
the identity of the engine?
In 1923 Sam started hauling bundles with horses. Sam continued
doing this for John Everson until 1950, and with other engineers
also. The crew worked very late hours at night. It was so dark, you
couldn’t see except for the light of the kerosene lanterns
burning. John Everson was a carpenter, too. Once when working on a
neighbor’s farm, one of the neighbor’s bulls started
chasing him. He quickly climbed a tree but was surprised when the
neighbor called to the bull and the bull went right home. It was a
well trained bull.
John Everson used the Peerless engine to move the schoolhouse
that Sam attended and other buildings, too. The steam engine was
scrapped in the 1940s. Courtesy Sam Sorenson, RR 1 Box 124, Fisher,
Minnesota 56723.
