Here comes the threshing machine - Glimpses of the Past with Karen Webster

Some say that humans began to grow cereal crops as long ago as 10,000 years ago. Throughout the ages, much hand labour was used to cut, dry and finally separate the grain kernels from the straw. 

 

The flail, which consisted of a long handle with another small board tethered to it by a leather thong, was used for several centuries to beat the stalks of the plant and loosen the edible grain seeds. The first threshing machine was invented around 1786 by a Scottish engineer by the name of Andrew Heikle and, by the late 1800s, several Ontario manufacturers were making their own threshing machines.

 

For the first part of the 20th century in this part of Ontario, the method to harvest grain crops consisted of cutting the ripe grain, originally with a scythe and later with a mower, and bundling it in sheaves, either by hand or with a binder. The sheaves were then stood upright together in a stook, drying in the sun and wind, until the time came for a threshing bee. 

 

Bruce A. Woods was a boy who lived in Stratford with his mother and grandmother. For him to escape the confines of city life, Bruce’s mother often sent him to the shores of Lake Huron, just north of Goderich, for a summer with the family of Andrew and Ethel Bogie. Bruce was introduced to all the magic of farm life by Graham Bogie, who was only one year his senior. From Bruce’s book, Between Two Women, comes this account of a threshing day in 1943 as seen through the eyes of a 12 year-old city boy.
The day of the threshing, Bruce and Graham watched from their perch on the rail fence.

 

The following section is a paraphrase of Bruce’s observations. 

 

First, Terrance Hunter led the way with a team of chestnuts, pulling an empty wagon that could pass for a Conestoga, except that the canvas was gone. There were hayracks protruding from either side. Next came Wilfred Smith with his team and wagon. Next was Bill Cook. After him was Irving Hunter. George and Cree Freeman were next in separate wagons. What a parade! The horses were panting and snorting. Behind each team of horses, there stood a seasoned farmer. No finer display by 16 Clydesdales at the Canadian National Exhibition could have matched what those boys saw that day.

 

“The grand finale comes with Alexander Watson’s threshing machine being pulled by a big Oliver tractor. The thresher is more than a man-made machine. It is something with a life of its own,” enthused Bruce. 

 

When the thresher was maneuvered into the entrance of the barn, the tractor was aligned with it with a big pulley belt stretched between the thresher and the tractor that transferred the power from the tractor to the thresher.

 

“Already, there is a load of oats at the ready. Mr. Bogie, pitchfork in hand, feeds the insatiable thresher with the oat bundles (sheaves). Straw is flying into the mow and the oats are filling the nearby granary.” Bruce continued his dialogue mentioning the heat, the noise and the industry of the farmers.

 

Finally, it was time for lunch. Roast beef with mashed potatoes and gravy… plates loaded up higher than ever seen… piling up the plates for seconds… then dessert… three pieces of pie each for 12 men seems to suffice. “The miracle is that they can work at all with all that food in their bellies.” But they do and are then ready for a full course chicken dinner at six o’clock. “Mrs. Bogie did have help from the wives, who also ate, but only after the men had finished.

 

“Act Two of the greatest show on earth has come to an end. The wagons and their horses are on their way home. The whole drama will be repeated at Wilfred Smith’s farm tomorrow. Six shows in six days, with the odd job here and there, and the thresher will fall silent for another year.” 

 

When I first read this account of a threshing bee, I was amazed that here was related the story of my grandfather, Alex Watson. Though he had died when I was fairly young, I had heard about him doing custom threshing and forage harvesting, so I was glad to be able to read a first-hand account of his involvement in the threshing bee at the Bogie farm. Alex operated a Waterloo thresher, so named because it was manufactured in Waterloo, Ontario. 

 

When Alex sold his threshing machine, it was purchased by a West Wawanosh farmer by the name of Harold Webster. Years later, I married Harold’s son, Allan, and was introduced to this threshing machine up close and personal because, for the next eight years, the Webster family continued to use it thresh its grain. My task was to keep an eye on the machine that was positioned on the threshing floor and to keep the grain bin leveled. Such a clattering sound filled the air.

 

Later, we converted to having our crop combined and we marveled how what used to be several days’ work could then be completed in an afternoon. However, the cost of running a combine far exceeded that of the belt dressing and fuel for the tractors involved when using the threshing machine.

 

These days, throughout the countryside, fields of orderly stooks of grain can be seen in the fields of our Amish and Mennonite neighbours, however, to see a threshing machine in action, one can attend the Huron Pioneer Thresher and Hobby Association’s annual show that is being held in Blyth on Sept. 6, 7 and 8.