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HomeMy WebLinkAbout31st Annual Huron Pioneer Thresher & Hobby Association 1992 Reunion, 1992-09-09, Page 6PAGE A-6. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 1992. Belt setting one of several special events One of the many highlights of the Huron Pioneer Thresher Reunion is the special events for adults, which attracts people year after year looking for the challenge of competition or just to watch. Organizing the events this year is Dwight Hallahan, son of Association Pres. Ray Hallahan, who was the special event chairman for the four years prior. Though all the competitions provide participants with a degree of challenge, Ray admits that the one that requires the most expertise is the belt setting contest. It is a skill that is passed down from generation to generation as in the case of the Hallahans themselves, who usually try their hand at bell setting each year at the Reunion. The event is done on both gas tractor and steam engine and steam engine. There are two contestants, one to operate the tractor or engine and one to operate the separator (threshing machine). The first step is to unhook the steam engine from the tractor, then the person running the tractor turns it around and lines up the pulleys to the separator. The second man then strings out the drive belt, blocks the separator, then puts the feeder out and wind blower. The final step is to put up the grain elevator. When the feeder starts the clock stops and that's when the machine is ready to thresh and the time is announced. The difficulty, according to Ray, who learned from his father, is to line up the separator so the belt won't fly off. The second person has the easy job, he says. "It just comes down to how fast they can run." The best time last year in the steam engine contest was two minutes, three seconds and in the tractor event one minute 32 seconds. Belt setting can be a dangerous event if participants don't know what they're doing and for that reason though the event is open to any competitors most novices wouldn't attempt it after seeing it done by someone else, says Ray. Each year there are usually about 20 contestants in the belt setting events, one of Putting The Teeth Into It President Ray Hallahan helps to keep the log steady for these two log-sawing competitors at last year's Thresher Reunion. The man on the right is Mr. Hallahan's son, Dwight, who is in charge of the special adult events this year. the better attended. The attraction Ray believes is due partly to nostalgia. "People are reliving a part of their past," he explains. The event takes them back some 60 years. Ray said his ancestors told him there was a competitive attitude with the old threshing gangs who would come in to a farmer's field to thresh and would see who could get the machine ready the fastest. There are two other events that Dwight will be looking after. The bag tieing event, he says, has six bags of grain which contestants must tie and kick over. The bag can not come untied and the fastest time wins. In the log sawing contest there are three categories — men's, mixed and ladies'. The events will lake place beginning at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. INTRODUCING THE GOODYEAR DT 710 The high performing radial for utility & midsize tractors. The new Goodyear DT 710 Is a tractor drive tire that's all radial and all ready to help you get In and out of the field faster, and do a better job while you're there. And, It is priced com-petltively with bias ply tires. Now your utility or mid-size tractor can have more pulling power, improved traction, far less vibration, longer wear and better fuel economy. All-new tread design reduces ride disturbance. The Goodyear DT 710 features a patented tread design on interlocking center lugs which greatly reduces the ride disturbance felt by the tractor operator. The increased number of cutting edges grip the soil more effectively, providing increased traction. An open shoulder design and high lug angles promote self-cleaning to help maintain traction even In less than ideal soil conditions. Since the DT 710 is a radial tire, the flexible side walls allows the tire to deflect more easily than a bias tire, resulting In a longer footprint. The belts in the tread area support the lugs providing a better bite into the soil. The combination of the patented tread design and radial construction of the DT 710 results in a tire providing better traction, improved ride, longer wear, and less fuel consumption than the bias tires you are currently using. No risk offer of satisfaction Enjoy all of the additional benefits of Goodyear Radial farm tires, or return to new bias ply tires and your Goodyear retailer will credit you with the difference. Get full details on this 90-day, no risk offer.