At Northeast Anne Street, on a vacant lot on the north side of Main Street, the Big Bend Historical Society has put on display a collection of farm implements that have been donated to the society over the years. In the collection are a grain drill, binder, three bottom plough, hay loader, tumblebug, subsoiler and a combine.
Before swathers and before combines there was the binder and the threshing machine. Cutting and binding grain into sheaves, the binder simply dropped them on the ground, after which, ideally, a team of three men with pitchforks picked them up with the pitchforks and stood them on end in stooks, with the grain heads on top, to dry. After the grain was sufficiently dry these same men picked up the sheaves and heaved them onto a wagon, which hauled them to the thresher for threshing. Lots of manual labour involved, including all the men required to operate the thresher and sack the grain. Today, thanks to the development of the combine, the entire operation can be accomplished by a single individual. The name "Combine" is an abbreviated form of "Combined Harvester", as the Combined Harvester was able to combine all the harvesting operations into a single operation. One caveat is that in areas experiencing shorter growing seasons it is still necessary to gut the grain with a swather before it is fully dry and allow it to dry in swaths on the ground, to be later picked up by the combine.
This particular example, a Model 36 John Deere, is one of the earlier combine we've seen. It is actually a Holt (Caterpillar) design that John Deere got when then bought out Caterpillar's combine line in the 1930s. Read the story of
John Deere Combines.
Model 36 John Deere Combine
The combine was used to cut and separate the grain from the shaft.
One of the outstanding features of the Model 36 was that the equipment lent itself to be modified by the owner for various operating standards. An an example some of the farmers modified their Model 36 to be operated from the tractor by a hydraulic system. Others modified it so that they could better run the header from the combine, thus operating both the combine and tractor from the combine.
From the sign at the machine
When in Wilbur be sure to stop at the Big Bend Historical Society Museum, 7 blocks west and a block north.
The Big Bend Historical Society Museum provides a glimpse into the past with their ever growing collection of antiques and memorabilia. From the Children’s Room; containing antique toys, to the bullet that killed
Wild Goose Bill; there’s something for everyone!
The museum is open June through August, Saturdays, from 11:00-2:00pm. You may request an appointment by calling Wilbur Town Hall at (509)647-5821.
From the Town of Wilbur