In 1843 The Livingston County Agricultural Society was formed for the purpose of encouragement and advancement of agriculture. This is barely ten years since the first settlers came to this wilderness area. In that short time land was cleared of trees, swamps were drained by digging ditches and the prairie was furrowed by the plow. The foremost crop at the time was wheat.
This was the main ingredient in the pioneers diet. With oxen, occasionally a horse, tree stumps were pulled and burned. Prior to this the trees had been girdled in order to allow the sun to reach the ground. Plowing the soil always brought stones of all sizes to the surface. One of the daily jobs of the children was to pick them up into piles.
With a pan of wheat, or a seeder strapped over the shoulder, the farmer scattered the seed. After 3-4 months and warm weather, the ripe wheat was ready to be harvested. When the heads were heavy with grain the pioneers anxiety grew with each passing wind or rain storm. Would his grain be flattened to the ground where it might be wet and begin to rot? His family, the cattle, sheet, etc. were depending on him.
Finally after several hot, dry days it was time to cut the wheat. One walked through the wheat swinging the cradle scythe, letting it fall in windrows. Family members followed, gathering up the windrows until the arm was full, then tying it with a handful of grain stalks. Several of these bundles were stacked, on the cut ends, into small groups supporting each other.
These bundles were then pitched onto a wagon, hauled to the barn, or some protected area. A canvas or some sort of ground cover was spread out. The dry wheat was spread about and the beating of the wheat with a flail began. Ingenious, farmers soon figured out a roller type contraction to which the draft animals were hitched, to thresh the wheat.
Wind power was used to separate the grain from its hull. Either by tossing it into the air by hand or the use of a fanning mill. This was turned by hand, whereby air was blown through the grain. The winnowed grain was usually poured into gunnysacks. Later barns were built with a granary or a separate building constructed. The remaining chaff and wheat stalks were used to refill the farmers mattress each year and as bedding for the cattle.
The earliest mowers used short pieces of scythes fastened close to the lower edge of a hollow log placed in a vertical position. Pulled by the team, gears turned the log in a rotary fashion, cutting everything through which they passed. Attaching grindstones kept the knives sharp as they rotated. It wasnt long before a horizontal bar was developed. This had the knives zipping back and forth cutting the grain in a more efficient manner. The development of the binder allowed the wheat to be bundled at the same time. The children of the family helped gather these bundles, stacking them into shocks for quicker placing and arranging on the wagon for transport to the actual threshing area.
Hand threshing was not a popular activity. Flailing was arduous work, it had to be done in warm weather, and no matter how the straw was tossed into the wind, a goodly amount found its way into the mouth, hair and clothes. When the threshing machine came into being, the intensity of the labor involved, for the amount of grain harvested was greatly eased. (However other chores soon filled the vacuum.)
Steam powered the early threshers. The steam engine itself was placed some distance from the thresher. This was an attempt to reduce the ever-present danger of fire; Dry straw ignites easily. A long, wide, heavy belt transferred the power from the engine to the thresher, turning its gears, etc. The bundles of wheat were tossed onto a conveyer and the threshed grain poured into bags while the straw and chaff was blown from the end of a tube. The wonderful, soft, golden pile, often 12-15 high, usually proved an irresistible magnet for children. Their struggle to the top resulted in a swift slide to the ground. However “Pa” usually didnt want the straw stack scattered all over and one was sure to come away with a mouthful of straw and chaff which also tangled hair and slid down inside ones shirt where it irritated mightily. These drawbacks were usually considered inconsequential compared to the fun of the slide.
During the early part of the century, Seymour Kellogg owned a modern traction engine and separator complete with a self-feeder (which was always ready to take as many bundles as four men could toss in) and a blower to aid in stacking the straw. He had a complete crew of nine men and hauled a bunkhouse for them to sleep. One could hire him and his crew, leaving only the care of the grain to the farmer. Often the owner of such a machine hired out to the farmers who then helped each other. No written record was kept of hours worked but everyone needed each other so all worked together. If a man was injured there were no lawsuits or insurance. It was considered bad luck and as much as possible, the others helped with his chores until recovery.
Wheat is ready for harvesting during the hottest days of summer. Grain has to be cut on hot, dry days. Horses are as susceptible to heat exhaustion as people. A good farmer never overworked his horses. A new team was put to work in the afternoon. A horse dead from the heat was of no value.
On the date set for the thrashers to come to ones farm, an audience of goggle-eyed youngsters greeted them. Can you picture this? The huge, self propelled steam engine blowing off steam and smoke as it made its way up the road and into your barn yard. The big, red grain separator came behind and that was followed by a wagon with a large, round-bottomed wooden tank filled with water for the steam engine. The engineer announced his arrival with a mighty blast of the whistle (as if that was necessary) which delighted the children. They had been anticipating that ear splitting shriek and the engineer didnt disappoint them.
Upon arrival the steam engine would set the massive separator in the barnyard or on the barn floor. Sometimes the barnyard was soft or wet and the engine couldnt get enough traction to place the separator where the farmer wished. Thats when the water boy and team were called upon. The team Bill Pless used were blind, having been pulled blind; perhaps with an impossible load by a previous owner. The horses were very nervous and high strung so they were dependent on their drivers eyes and hands to guide them. Bill had been born on a farm and had driven horses since a very young age. The team was accustomed to his manner and would respond willingly. The audience, composed of the crew and farmers, know the unwritten rule that the “driver is handling the team and everybody else keep their mouths shut.” In the case of blind horses, especially, whose sense of hearing is more acute, the silence was important for them to retain the sense of trust they had in their driver.
Bill also remembered that as water boy it was his job to keep plenty of water available for the steam engine. The tank wagon held 15 barrels. At the nearest lake or stream, he pumped the tank full, hurried back to the engine and refilled its tank. Then back to the lake for another wagonful. This averaged about four trips a day. However his work didnt end there. His own team and the several which brought the wheat from the field to the loader, had to be unharnessed, cleaned, fed, watered and bedded. This process was reversed in the morning; with a feeding and watering at noon also.
Barns were often built very near the road. In order to set the separator so the straw stack could be built where the farmer directed, the engine had to be placed on the other side of the road and the long, heavy belt strung across the road. The farmer provided access around the barn for the horse drawn traffic of the time and no one seemed to mind the delay. The coming of the automobile put an end to stringing the belt across the road.
A bit of friendly rivalry ensued among the farmers wives as they prepared meals for the threshing crew. Usually two meals were prepared for up to 20 men for as many days as it took to finish the threshing. A hired crew received breakfast also.
The meal preparation entailed many hours in a hot kitchen (in hot weather) peeling, cooking, roasting, baking, table setting, table clearing, dish washing; and it would begin again for the evening meal. The farmers wife enlisted the aid of female relatives, if she didnt have enough daughters, to help with the work. As with the men, this favor was returned in like manner. Her customers were always appreciative and hungry. Working from 7 am. to 6 pm. Their appetites matched the generous meals.
The threshers, garbed in bib overalls, long sleeved shirt, red bandana handkerchief around the neck in an attempt to keep out itchy, pick chaff, and heavy shoes were ready when the dinner bell by the back door was rung. A wash bench was set up outside with pans of water, bars of soap and several towels. The threshers appreciated the opportunity to escape from the sweat, grime and chaff, which had accumulated. The younger children kept them supplied with fresh water from the cistern as they clustered near the chatting and often teasing men. The fresh water bucket, with one dipper for all to use, was welcomed by the thirsty workers. Usually a mirror was hung in a handy place and a comb could be run through wet, tousled hair. After all, one of the young ladies serving might be a special someone. It should be noted that occasionally workers brought their lunch and went home for supper because of that particular farmers wifes lake of culinary skills.
With the coming of the railroad, grain farmers in the area had a strong impetus to put more fields into wheat. They now had a reliable means to ship their extra grain to distant buyers. On land leased from the railroad, north of Main Street, a grain elevator was built. The farmer drove his wagon of grain up a dirt ramp next to the elevator and dumped the grain into a chute. From there it went through a fanning mill and was screened; then elevated to a large hopper on scales and from there to bins in the upper area of the building. Gravity then took over the job of directing it into railroad cars. During the wheat harvest the streets leading to this elevator, and the Hyne elevator on the South Side of Main, were lined up with wagons delivering grain.
The development of the combine, which cuts, winnows, drops the straw in neat rows and transfers the wheat into waiting trucks has greatly reduced the number of men needed to get the job done. To enable the gigantic combine to operate most efficiently small fields were joined providing a large number of acres into one field. Removal of the old fencerows reduced, also, the number of pheasants, foxes, rabbits and other wildlife which had called them home.
From planting wheat by hand to using a planter holding bushels of seed and which plants neat rows in a several yards wide swath; from cutting with a cradle scythe to the binder, the thresher and the combine, which performs the entire harvesting process as it travels through the field, the areas economy is still changing. Very little wheat is harvested in this southeast corner of Livingston County presently. The cost of machinery requires large tracts of acreage. The taxes on a farmers real estate precluded the land necessary. It has become a residential area. And while we enjoy the rural atmosphere we really dont care for the smells of farm animals and the resulting manure, the sights of the barnyard nor the sounds of a tractor, grain dryer, hay bailer, etc., disturbing our idea of life in the country. It has been found that residential development and farms are not very compatible.
Compiled by Marieanna Bair with thanks to the writings of Bill Pless and newspaper articles of Claudine & Andrew Jackson and Duane Girbaugh.