Box 426, Morley, Iowa 52312
THRESHING NOSTALGIA
A very important and exciting event in the life of most farmers
was the ‘threshing days.’ The annual threshers meetings,
arguments, actual threshing, the generous and delicious meals, jack
knife trading (sight unseen), pranks (cigarette butts in hip
pockets), jokes (frogs in drinking cans) and the congeniality of
neighbors were eagerly awaited in those days of the past.
One of the more prominent threshers of the Morley area was
William Boots, who was assisted by his twin sons, Willard and
Willis and in later years by his grandson, Merwyn.
William Boots threshed in the early 1900s. It was done by a
horsepower operated machine. His first steam power was a Star
single cylinder engine, separator unknown, having a safety feeder,
Sattley swinging stacker and an automatic weigher.
Two years later Mr. Boots purchased an American Starr separator
from Des Moines, Iowa. The 12 horsepower engine was traded for a 14
horsepower Starr which was operated for four years.
The next engine was a Reeves cross-compound, double cylinder,
purchased from Duke, Hart, and Hughes of Des Moines, Iowa, and this
company is still in business today selling Allis Chalmers road
machinery.
In 1918, Mr. Boots purchased from the Avery Company, Peoria,
Illinois an undermounted, double cylinder 22-40 horsepower Avery
steamer, and a 32 x 64 Avery separator, ‘Yellow Fellow.’
This machine was delivered to Morley by rail in June. Price of
engine, $2,200, separator, $1,400, weight of engine, 17 ton.
The machine took a crew of 25 to 30 men for full operation and
on the best days, 5,600 bushel of grain was threshed.
This machine was in threshing operation until 1928. The day of
the ‘gas tractor’ had arrived and the Boots family
purchased two large Minneapolis tractors and a new Minneapolis
separator. Old ‘Yellow Fellow,’ the original 32 x 64
separator continued to thresh for several more years, then was sold
to a company threshing group at Newport and Riverside near Olin,
Iowa. Ray Grassfield with a Twin-City tractor threshed with the
original separator for several years.
Bill Klinefelter near Forest purchased the separator from
Grassfield. After several more years of threshing with ‘Yellow
Fellow,’ the Boot’s separator purchased in 1918, became a
part of (Bill Klinefelter’s museum of woods and retired
machinery). Since the writing of this article, the author has
learned that Howard Klinefelter, son of Bill, has disposed of the
original separator.
The Avery steam engine was retired from threshing in the early
1930s, but was used for several years in sawing lumber, and
railroad ties 21/2 miles northeast of Morley and west of the
original John Tallman farm. This property is now owned by Eugene
Eldred.
Several years after this, the engine was scrapped and the boiler
was purchased by Mr. Danly, Mechanicsville, Iowa. The boiler of the
engine was used in the old rendering plant near ‘Pioneer
Hill’ two miles north of Mechanicsville, or six miles south of
Morley on the Morley-Mechanicsville Road.
Ellsworth Tallman, another ‘ole time thresher’ and
sawmill operator had various machines: an Avery undermounted
steamer, an Avery separator, Twin City tractor, and Aultman Taylor
separator. This machine was operated in 1934 by Roily and Ivan
Duncan as Ellsworth was engaged in building a saw mill at the Green
(Center Church area). At a later date another machine was
purchased, an Avery steel separator and Twin City tractor which was
operated by Ellsworth and his son, Virgil Tallman.
The Avery Company offered Mr. Tallman, also the Boots brothers
(Willis and Willard), opportunities to operate Avery Company
machines as instructors and mechanics in Argentina, South America.
These offers were not accepted because Argentina was considered too
wild and uncivilized at that time.
Another machine was operated in the Dakotas for one year by Mr.
Tallman.
Milt Miller who operated several steam outfits in this vicinity
was noted for being a genius at inventions that modified the
threshing equipment. He gained considerable recognition and fame
among the ‘threshing fraternity’ by the invention of a
swinging stacker (apron type) and a tailing auger for the
separator. For one of these inventions, Mr. Miller received as
compensation for his patent rights, a new Rumely steamer and
separator.
The threshing crew who operated this machine were Sam Weaver the
separator man, Milt Miller, engineer. Wilse Gilmore the tank man.
They drove a large pair of bay horses named Cook and Perry, named
after the two famous explorers. These two horses were colts at the
time of the North Pole expedition in 1909. The writer of this
article remembers this team as still being used in 1926, as a
bundle team on the Del Miller farm now owned by Russell Tenley and
driven by Wilbert Hayes.
ACCIDENTS OF THE THRESHING ERA
The Avery steamer belonging to Ellsworth Tallman gained fame and
notoriety in the Wapsipinicon area through an accident. The steamer
broke through the Shaw bridge in 1919. It plunged 30 feet from the
bridge into eight feet of water.
Ten years ago, Ellsworth narrated his account of the accident:
‘I knew when the break through started that I could not get out
of the cab until the engine struck the water. The back of the
engine broke through first and the back edge of the cab caught the
bridge plank ripping off the top of the cab. After the engine
struck the water 30 feet below, I swam out of the cab toward the
south shore, but my narrowest escape from serious injury or death
was the planks of the bridge that the engine had loosened when it
broke through which kept falling near me while I was swimming out.
I was considerably concerned that the boiler would explode when the
hot boiler struck the cold water of the river. But I was lucky, and
didn’t receive any injuries although I lost my billfold and had
my gold watch ‘dunked.’ After the engine struck the water,
the whole river area was covered with steam for a short
time.’
Since the Shaw bridge had not been posted with the correct
tonnage or weight unit, Mr. Tallman received a $3,000 settlement
from the county.
A stump puller, owned by John Smith, with a system of extra
pulleys to give more power was used to pull the engine from the
river. There were difficulties. Cables had to be fastened to the
engine under water, as the engine had settled on its side and had
to be righted first. Then the large drive wheels had filled with
mud and would not turn until the engine was part way out of the
river. Nearly a week was spent in this operation assisted by Willis
Boots, Ben Smith, Roily Duncan, George Lindley, and Nick Schueler,
a blacksmith.
Later, the engine was towed to Morley by the Boots’ Avery by
George Lindley and Willis Boots. The engine was later restored by
Ellsworth and sold to Henry Rickels west of the Antioch Church.
A threshing machine in the Forest area with a near fatal tragedy
was a machine operated by John Siebels, engineer, and Charlie
Vernon, separator. Mr. Siebels was caught between the feeder of the
separator and the engine. An attempt to get to the engine throttle
by Charlie Vernon, loosened the iron poker which broke the water
gauge which in turn spewed scalding water on both men. However,
neither man was badly burned, although Charlie did have some
blistered hands for several days afterward.
The Boots’ Avery steamer broke through the wooden bridge,
east of the Earl Duncan farm. It took several days to repair the
damage to the engine as the repairs had to be obtained from the
factory at Peoria, Illinois.
Reuel McColm and Kelsey Hanna operating a threshing machine that
was involved in a fatal accident that stunned the community. It
occured at what is now the Donzel Ehresman farm. Following item
from THE ANAMOSA EUREKA, Thursday, July 30, 1936:
‘Lowell Klinefelter, 36 years old, was fatally injured
Tuesday when the threshing machine into which he had tossed a
bundle of grain picked up his pitchfork and hurled it back at him.
The handle of the fork was thrust into his head.
‘He was hurried to the Mercy Hospital here Tuesday
afternoon, but died without regaining consciousness. Klinefelter
had been one of a crew working on a farm near Morley.
‘Funeral services took place at Forest. Chapel Church with
Reverend Hanson in charge of the rites. Many attended the services.
Burial was in the Forest Chapel Cemetery.’
