A salute to farming’s ‘good old days’
- Sr Perspective
- 6 days ago
- 4 min read
Antique tractor and engine club has been chugging along for 50 years
By Scott Thoma
Once a month for the past 50 years, members of the Pioneer Power Association, an antique tractor and engine club in Hanley Falls, meet to discuss the “good old days” when farming was usually laborious and threshing was time-consuming.
“We all have a common interest,” said Vernon Ellingson, one of the two active members from the original Pioneer Power organization, along with Arlan Gustafson. “We all have a love for tractors and machines. We get together and talk about various tractors, tractor shows we’ve been to and things like that. Mostly, though, we are preparing for the annual threshing show that we put on.”
“Farming has been our life,” echoed Gustafson. “It’s enjoyable to get together with the others and talk about what farming used to be like. We want others to join us.”
Pioneer Power has over 50 members now. The meetings are like any other with officers, dues, minutes and more.
The annual Threshing Show occurs the first weekend in August and this year’s event marks the 50th anniversary. The event is held on the grounds of the Minnesota Machinery Museum in Hanley Falls, which will coincide with the museum celebrating its 45th anniversary this year.
“We’re excited to have the threshing show on our grounds,” said Laurie Johnson of the Machinery Museum. “It brings a lot of people together to reminisce and also brings in people wanting to learn about vintage farm machinery.”
Until farming became more mechanized and combines were introduced in the 1930s, it took farmers around an hour just to thresh a bushel of wheat. Approximately one quarter of agriculture labor was devoted to threshing.
Threshing is the process of loosening the edible part of grain, or another crop, from the straw to which it is attached. It’s the next step in grain preparation after reaping.
The people that come to the threshing show or to the museum are attracted to the “yesteryear of farming” and some inquire about joining the Pioneer Power club.
“Originally, it was just farmers and people from Hanley Falls in our club,” said Ellingson. “ Now we have members from other areas, too.”
Gustafson said that having members from other places brings new ideas and interests.
“We used to just hear from our friends and neighbors about farming in this area,” said Gustafson. “The members from other towns that have joined us talk about tractor shows in their area. It’s always fun to meet new people and hear their stories.”
Originally, a tractor club was formed in 1975 with Lowell Gustafson serving as its first president and hosting the first threshing show on his farm. The club organized and aligned with Pioneer Power Association in the fall of 1976, the same year as the town celebrated the bicentennial.
“We wanted to do something because the town was celebrating the bicentennial,” said Gustafson. “So, we started the threshing show and had people bring in some old tractors and engines. People enjoyed it so we’ve been doing it ever since, except in 2020 we didn’t have a show because of COVID.”
Pioneer Power has several clubs throughout the state. The threshing show started out as a threshing bee in which neighbors collectively thresh one another’s crops.
The inaugural year, the club held monthly meetings in the Hanley Falls Fire Hall with 16 members. Threshing events would rotate to a different local farm over the first few years until it moved onto the museum grounds in 1980.
“We’re not a rich club by any means,” joked Ellingson. “But we feel we are here to show what farming was like in the good old days.”
Besides organizing and holding a threshing show, club members collect and restore old tractors and engines. To raise a little money, the club also operates a small campground with 10 electrical and water hook-ups in town.
Proceeds from the threshing show go back into the club and over the years they have been able to purchase buildings to store restored antique tractors, steam engines and machinery.
One of the things they are most proud to have in the club’s collection is a 1927 Rumely Oil Pull tractor that they purchased in 1978 and now store in one of the buildings at the Machinery Museum. The Rumely Oil Pull was a line of tractors developed by the Advance-Rumely Company from 1909 until 1930.
The club members first saw the Rumely for sale in an engine magazine in Aberdeen, S.D.
“We decided we wanted to do something for unity,” said Gustafson. “So, 20 members gave $100 each to purchase the Rumely. They delivered it for us and we restored it and got it running again. It’s now part of the show each year. With money the club made from various projects, each of the members eventually got their $100 back.”
“The Rumely Oil Pull cools with oil instead of water and it burns kerosene instead of gasoline,” said Ellingson. “A few times when we get it started, we get sprayed with oil.”
Agricultural history is paramount to Ellingson and Gustafson. They are proud to say that they each live on farm sites once owned and operated by their great grandfathers.
“Those were the good old days,” Ellingson said.
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