HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1993-09-08, Page 41Heave ho
Everyone gets in the spirit of yesteryear at the Thresher Reunion. Wayne Lowe and Thresher Association President
Ray Hallahan compete in the log sawing competition, while special events chairperson Dwight Hallahan has a front
row seat to time the competitors. Each year many participants try their hand at such things as belt setting, log cutting
and bag tying, while just as many have a good time watching the fun.
WeCcorne
to the
32ND ANNUAL
THRESHER REUNION
in Blyth
Gore's Home Hardware
Blyth
( How
Hardware 523-9273
Radford's
Replacement Parts
We would like to extend a special welcome
to everyone visiting the Pioneer Thresher Reunion
NEW, USED AND REBUILT
TRACTOR & COMBINE PARTS
NEW REPLACEMENT PARTS FOR
MOST MAJOR LINES
AT MAJOR SAVINGS
LONDESBORO
(519) 523-4519
FAX 519-523-4980
Dealer enquiries welcome
/ / /
Welcome
TO THE 32' THRESHER REUNION
Be sure to drop in for an
ice cream cone, many
flavours to choose from.
You'll find a wide
selection of • groceries •
cards • gifts • candy •
pop •& much more.
BLYTH MINI MART
Queen St. Blyth
523-4486
Open 8 a.m. - 11 p.m. daily
Let's go
to the
Mini
Mart
Prop. - Arlene Wood
Welcome
to
Blyth
Congratulations to the Pioneer Thresher
Association on their 32nd Reunion
John, Bev, Rick & Anne Elliott,
Barb, Lisa, Steacey, Jackie & Betsy
GENERAL LIFE
Rick Elliott R. John Elliott
519-523-9725 519-523-4323
INSURANCE
BROKERS Established 1910
BLYTH, ONTARIO NOM 1H0
519-523-4481
4 GENERATIONS SINCE 1910
THE CITIZEN. WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 1993. PAGE A-2I .
Huron Pioneer Thresher Reunion 1993
Belt setting one of several special events
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 sec who could get the
machine ready the fastest.
There are two other events that Dwight
will be looking after. The bag tying event, he
says, has Six bags of grain which contestants
must tie and kick over. The bag can not
come untied and fastest time wins.
In the log sawing contest there are three
categories — men's, mixed and ladies'.
The events will take place /beginning at
1:30 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
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. 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 belt setting each year at the Reunion.
The event is done on both gas tractor and
steam engine. There arc 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