Clinton News-Record, 1983-08-31, Page 30Pam- Gli
Monsterous, complicated pieces of equipment like this old threshing machine are the kind of old agricultural
machinery that are brought to Blyth each September for the annual thresher's reunion. ( Blyth Standard photo)
You don't see too many of these old trucks on the roads
anymore. But at the Blyth Threshermen's Reunion
they're not an unusual sight. Old trucks, cars, steam
engines and threshing machines from decades gone by
will fill the community park for the September 9, 10 and 11
show this year. (Blyth Standard photo)
Best Wishes
to the Huron Pioneer
Thresher and Hobby
Association on your
Annual Reunion in Blyth
Proud to be
working with the people
of Blyth and area
since 1952
Clinton Community
CREDIT UNION
70 ONTARIO -STREET
CLINTO
482-3467
374 MAIN ST. SOUTH
EXETER
235-0640
Bag tying is one of the fun events that takes place at the
Blyth Thresher Reunion. This contestant shows that it
takes both hands and feet to keep things upright in this
competition. The contest is filed with impressive skill and
humorous antics. I wonder if our forefathers did it this
way too? (Blyth Standard photo)
While driving through the area, stop
in at Debbie's for our Threshermen's
WEEKEND SMORCASOOR0 SPEC/A[
FRIDAY - SATURDAY - SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 9-10-11
SERVING TIME:
Fri. Sept. 9 - 4:00 p.m. on
Sat. Sept. 10 - 12:30 p.m. on
Sun. Sept. 11 - 12:30 p.m. on
Your Choice -
*ROAST BEEF
*ROAST TURKEY
$6 95
ALL FOR•
Includes: Our famous
Mulligatawny soup or lulce,
mashed or french -
fried potatoes, vegetable, 20
SELECTION SALAD BAR, roll,
tea or coffee. Dessert: Pie of
your choice.
WE FEATURE:
*Air Conditioned Dining
*Salad Bar
*Daily Specials
*Take-out Service
*Plenty of Parking
*Seating for over 60 people
DEBBIE'S
RESTAURANT
2 miles South of Clinton
on Hwy. No. 4 at Vanastra Rd.
OPEN: Seven days a week 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.
WELCOME
10 SNE
??ad Anneal
rNRESNEwsREUNION
DAVE'S
CAR 0/UNS
*New acid free oil.
Prepare your vehicle
for the cold months
ahead.
Phone for an
appointment:
523-4343
Drummond St. East
Blyth
yex'
By Shelley McPhee
Wheat has been a major
crop in Huron County for
more than a century. James
Scott in his 1966 book The
Settlement of Huron County
wrote that by 1850, wheat
was the most popular crop
with oats coming second.
Some 15,400 acres of wheat
were grown on Huron soil,
yielding 214,739 bushels.
Oats covered 8,271 acres and
brought in 199,141 bushels.
Scott wrote, "Previous to
1850 the annual yield of
wheat, according to the
Thomas McQueen in The
Journal of Transactions of
the Board of Agriculture in
Upper Canada, was less than
3,000 bushels. By 1856,
100,000 bushels of wheat
were shipped from the little
port of Bayfield alone.
Incidentally, this marks the
beginning of the only period
in its history that Bayfield
showed any signs of com-
mercial success. For a few
years a great deal of local
wheat was taken by wagons
to elevators down on "the
flats" in Bayfield to be
transported by water for sale
elsewhere in the country or
for export. Slowly this in-
dustry fell off as more and
more wheat was carried by
rail to the port in Goderich.
If a railway line had its lake
terminal in Bayfield the
story might have been dif-
ferent, but another and
larger centre once more took
precedence and eventually
Bayfield's role as a shipping
point for wheat dwindled to
nothing."
With the steady increase of
the wheat acreage, farmers
began using new and im-
proved cultivation and
harvesting methods and ,by
1871, Scott wrote, there were
591 threshing machines in
use, 6,295 fanning mills, 995
reapers and mowers. Much
of this equipment was made
locally.
Scott wrote, "The final
phase of the development of
agriculture came with the
advent of the threshing
machine and steam engine.
Now crews of men would
move from farm to farm on a
regular schedule, threshing
the wheat. Threshing days
became a tremendous
community events and
countinued to be until the
combine came into ,general
use. Today there are very
few of the old type threshing
outfits left in Huron County
but for 50 years this was a
prominent feature of farm
life and the threshing
machines were made in
foundries right in the co
itself . "
The harvest season w
James Scott, describe
time for men and wo
boys and girls to
together in work and in f
The Blyth Standard in
September 2, 1964 i
reported, "To listen in
conversation of the men
manned these smok
giants, in their wor
days, one feels that
threshing bee was some
they enjoyed even if it
work. You hear discus
`We used to rise at 3:30 a
on a brisk October mo
to fire the engines and cl
the flues, feed and harn
the horses. In the f
kitchen savory smells
home cured ham and e
bowls of oatmeal porri
and buckets of coffee iss
forth on the crisp mo
air. To hear the rattling
farm wagon miles down
gravel road as the sun
bursting into view
east, flooding the trees
sunlight and in their aut
foliage they in to
projecting their magnific
colors for all to see.' To he
conversations such as th
of the tom foolery that w
on that times makes
younger person think t
progress didi rob us of th
days."
Isaac Cranston of Ashfie
Township owned one of
powerful threshin
machines. The townsh
history book Frontier Wa
to Modern Days recalls t
work of the iron giant in
early 1900's.
"Isaac owned a thresh"
machine and did ba
threshing for years. At t
time the sheaves were but
the barns and thresh
wouldn't be finished until
first of November. The me
who ran the threshin
machine usually stayed
night at the place where the
were working. Some of
places, the women didn't
their bedding all dirtied wi
threshing dirt. One night
men didn't have enou
covers so they got up and p
their clothes on and we
back to bed.
"Another place they we
coaxed to stay all night bu
didn't known why until th
next morning. The forme
had sold a team of hors
they day before and had $4
in the house and didn't wan
to be alone.
"It has been related tha
on February 14, 1934, Isaa
shovelled out his lane, pulle
the machine out and went
Welcome
Threshermen R
VISITORS
...during your visit to BIy
at Yvonne's for...
H
Ha
Milkshakes, ice cream C
(Also
Hours: Mon. to Frid
Saturd
Sun