Farming was very labor-intensive until the 1940s, when tractors with internal combustion engines replaced horses.
In 1917, the average farm in Livingston County was only 160 acres in size. Farm families usually had many children to help with all the labor involved in operating early farms.
In 2009, the Woodford Journal published two stories written by 84-year-old Calvin Hartter (1924-2020), who farmed in the Eureka area. His two articles focused on farming methods starting in the 1930s.
Hartter recounted that in the 1930s, oats were a main crop. Oat seeds were sown in March into old corn stalks and then disked into the ground. Oats were good feed for horses, growing pigs, and, of course, oatmeal for humans.
Oats were harvested in early July with a binder. Three or four horses pulled the binder. This machine cut the stems and tied them into bundles of about 20 pounds. When 10 or 11 bundles of oats were done, they were dropped onto the ground. Humans had to move the bundles into shocks. The shocked oats were then dried in the field for a few weeks.
In August, neighbors got together and went from farm to farm, threshing oats. Steam engines powered some of the threshing machines. The threshing machine was set up in the farm yard, and horses would pull rack wagons of oats bundles to the machine. The machine separated the oats from the straw. The straw was often used to make a stack for a livestock shelter in the winter. The clean and dried oats were scooped into wood bins for storage. The grain market price for oats was about 25 cents per bushel. This price is equivalent to $5.65 in today's dollars.
Hartter recounted that the event of farmers banding together to help each other harvest oats was called a "threshing run." These threshing runs lasted for two or three weeks. Dinners were served every noon by the family whose farm they were at. These big feeds for a bunch of hungry, dirty men, maybe as many as 40, generally two tables full. After harvesting was over, there was a big celebration of homemade ice cream for all, whether it was a good harvest or not.
Threshing run groups were prevalent in Livingston County before combines were invented. A search of the Pantagraph archives found 1,031 articles about threshing runs. The Fairbury Blade newspaper has 62 articles about threshing runs in the Fairbury area.
One of the best articles describing how a threshing run group operated was published in a 1941 Pantagraph article. This article focused on the oldest threshing run group in Livingston County, the Banner Threshing Run. The group was named after the Banner Country School, four miles southwest of Saunemin.
This group was formed in 1896, so by the time of the 1941 Pantagraph article, it had been in existence for 45 years. The group had 15 members, and it covered farms west of Saunemin, running west to land tenant-farmed by Adam Skrobonak (1888-1976) northwest of Fairbury. In 1941, the members of the Banner Threshing Run included Adam Skrobonak, Fred Immke, William Attig, Frank Pritchard, Adam Skrobonak, Ed Miller, Henry Immke, Charles Friesleben, LeRoy Tronc, Alvia Immke, Harry Vitzhum, Chris Jensen, John Miller, Carl Schauble Sr., and Carl Schauble Jr.
The group's bylaws stated that a minimum of 10 racks and six pitchers must always be ready for service. The ring confined its activities to the two sections south and west of Banner School. The crew ate dinner and supper where they were threshing, allowing 23 minutes for the noon meal. After all the oats were threshed, a picnic was held at Banner Country School.
In 1941, the group started harvesting oats at the Fred Immke farm on July 16, and they finished on July 30 on land farmed by Adam Skrobonak. For the 1941 harvest season, a total of 38,372 bushels of oats were threshed from 757 acres. The daily average was 3,837 bushels, and the average per acre was 50.7 bushels. The two highest yields were at the LeRoy Tronc farm (62.3 bushels) and the Chris Jensen Farm (58.7 bushels).
This group was very well organized and had a President and Secretary. They kept records and had an annual business meeting. This threshing run group operated on a pro-rating system. Each man got 7 cents per 100 pounds of oats threshed and 9 cents if he used a team or truck. (If member A made more threshing on the farm of member B, that member B made on the farm of member A, then member A paid member B the difference). Pro-rating settlements were made at the annual business meeting.
Charles Menees (1916-1993), the Pantagraph reporter who wrote the 1941 article about the Banner Threshing Run group, was amazed that it had stayed together for 45 years. Mr. Menees asked members of the group to explain why they got along so well.
Mort Winters, a long-time member of the group, stated, "Our members work the same when threshing for one as another. Not a one of us tries to shirk. If we do have a little chewing match, we have a meeting and settle it by a vote."
Fred Immke, a member for 36 years, stated, "If we hadn't had a nice bunch of fellows, we couldn't have stayed together this long."
The Banner Threshing Run group hired a man to provide the threshing machine. As of 1941, there had only been three threshers. Paul Coleman, the first thresher, retired and was followed for the next 13 years by Albert Womach. Dan Zehr threshed for the first time during the 1941 season.
As Calvin Hartter recounted in his 2009 newspaper article, threshing run groups ceased to exist once combines became prevalent in the 1960s. He recounted the combine could do the work of 20 men.
By the middle of the 1960s, Fairbury area farmers still helped each other with labor-intensive jobs. Farmers and their children would help neighbors shell eared corn, bale hay, bale straw, and walk beans to pull the weeds. Area farmers have a long history of banding together and helping each other.
(Dale Maley's local history feature on Fairbury News is sponsored each Monday by Dr. Charlene Aaron of Fairbury)
