HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2019-08-29, Page 11THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, AUGUST 29, 2019. PAGE 11.
Francois Latour, sometimes
known as the Threshing King, made
good on his drive to reclaim the
Guinness Book of World Records
title for having the most threshing
machines operating together in one
location on Aug. 11, and several
locals were there to play their part.
Joe Hallahan and Edgar Daer,
alongside their significant others,
made the trip to St. Albert, Ontario,
near Ottawa, where 250 threshers
from all over the country were
scheduled to operate at the same
time, reclaiming a title that Latour
had held until a group in Manitoba
had 139 run simultaneously in
2016.
Latour’s drive was not only to net
the world record, but also to raise
money for breast cancer after he lost
his wife to it years earlier. The event
raised more than $100,000.
While threshing is something that
Daer is keenly interested in, he also
had a personal stake in it, having lost
his first wife to breast cancer.
The event was a sight to behold,
both Daer and Hallahan said, with
Hallahan noting that, as the
threshing machines were all pointing
inwards in long lines, it made for a
surreal scene as straw filled the air.
Most of the threshing was done by
machines that would look
completely at home in the live
threshing demonstrations held at the
annual reunion of the Huron Pioneer
Thresher and Hobby Association,
but some were a bit more unique.
“Mostly it was large threshers
powered by tractors, but there were
some steam engines, and one horse
on a treadmill,” Daer said, with
Hallahan saying the horse had a
bright pink tail, in honour of breast
cancer awareness. “It looked nice,
with all the blower pipes facing each
other and there were Canadian flags
as far as the eye could see.”
For 15 minutes, the engines ran
and for five consecutive minutes,
243 of the 250 engines ran, setting
the new world record. Some,
Hallahan said, ran into problems.
One engine stuck out, however, as
it was painted pink in honour of
breast cancer awareness. It made for
a poignant reminder, Daer said, as it
had names of people like his first
wife who had been lost to breast
cancer as well as some survivors. He
said that it was pointed out to him
that the survivors outnumbered those
who were lost, showing that
fundraisers like the event do make a
difference.
The sound was impressive, they
both said, as hundreds of engines
and some hand-fed threshers ran,
though nothing could drown out the
cheering, Daer said.
Daer and Hallahan said they saw a
lot of familiar faces at the event, and
two members of the Huron Pioneer
Thresher and Hobby Association
with machines at the event.
As they helped out, Hallahan and
Daer, alongside their significant
others, received commemorative
pink shirts and Hallahan and Daer
both received a specialized pitch
fork, which they used to help feed
hay that day.
Latour first claimed the world
record in 2015 with 111 operating
threshers before the Manitoba bested
that mark a year later. Prior to
Latour’s initial drive, the record was
held by a Saskatchewan group who
had 41 threshing machines operating
simultaneously.
The event was somewhat of a
reunion, according to reports, with
large tents, entertainment, beverages
and a dinner offered, as well as farm
machinery displays.
Both Daer and Hallahan were able
to visit St. Albert Cheese Factory
Co-op when they were at the site,
and had fond memories of it.
Hallahan said it reminded him of
when such an operation was in
Blyth, and how impressive it was to
watch vats of cheese be stirred.
Aside from the threshers, another
world record was attempted at the
site, with Marie-Claire Ivanski
trying to create the largest human
chain, in a pink-ribbon motif for
breast cancer awareness, on Aug. 11.
Unfortunately, that attempt fell short
of making the record books.
Locals chip in to set threshing world record
Doing their part
Joe Hallahan, left and Renske and Edgar Daer were three of a local foursome that travelled
to St. Albert in eastern Ontario to take part in a threshing Guinness World Record attempt. It
was successful and the group was part of 250 threshing machines all running at once to beat
a Manitoba-set record in 2016. (Denny Scott photo)
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The Citizen