We had to start somewhere!
In the late 1800's, farmers harvested with a 6 horse team and a Push Header. With the horses behind the combine, less wheat was trampled.
The wheat was cut with sickles, fell into the moveable header where a draper moved it up and eventually into a wagon pulled by four horses. The wheat was unloaded and pitched into the thresher, separated from the chaff and straw & then scooped into burlap sacks. The sacks were sewed, loaded onto a wagon &
transported to a local elevator. Some facts and information:
The sacks weighed approximately 150 pounds and an efficient crew could handle 1,000 sacks per day.
A harvest crew consisted of the following specialists:
The "Separator Man" serviced the machine
The "Sack Jig" filled burlap sacks with wheat
“Sack Sewers” sewed the sacks
The “Straw-Buck” hauled the straw away
The “Fireman” burned wood to fuel the boilers
30 - 40 able-bodied men
30 - 40 healthy horses and/or mules
With so many dramatic and economic changes in our lives, we salute our local farmers who diligently continue to make their living from the land.
Our 'trip' through time begins prior to the start of the 20th century. When many of our little towns were being incorporated, homesteaders
were breaking sod and developing the land.
Enjoy the pictures of Eastern Washington Farmers.
Push Header
Many farmers today keep alive their family's legacy by either participating or watching the
Harvest Bee in Colfax, Washington.
Plowing and planting takes place in April, followed by the harvest every Labor Day Weekend.
The crop is planted and harvested with antiquated threshing techniques in a 15 acre field.
Photo of Gene Webb, a retired St. John Washington farmer at the Harvest Bee
Stationary Combine
Early harvest in the Palouse
Harrowing
Dutch Wellsandt
Wagon after wagon delivers wheat
from the field to the nearest storage facility
Henry Dyck 1916
Henry Dyck's Heading Outfit
A beautiful Mule Team
Harvest in Adams County
Pete Thiel 1941
Note the five men on the combine
Note the fuel barrels
Hang on!
A Ritzville, WA harvest
Otto Lobe and Lewie Lobe
A trap wagon and it's been 'around'
many years and still used
by a local farmer
Lind WA, 1978
1.25 million Bushels
Storing wheat on the ground
1937 Lind, WA
1941 Lind, WA
The Phillips' 13 combines ready
for the 1960 harvest.
Harvest 1959 & 1960
Hugh "R.H." Phillips with his three sons
Bill, Bob, Boyd
1960 Harvest
Ray Stelzer & Ed Chandler stand by
their service trucks. It's time to harvest!
Look closely! Although the photo resembles ants
it's actually 24 combines threshing wheat
and trucks arrived at the Reinhold Sackmann Farm.
Because of health issues, Reinhold needed help with his
1978 harvest. It was a warm Sunday morning when
the combines arrived. They rolled in a majestic procession and then
fanned out over the golden fields to thresh 564 acres in 5 hours.
Community women helped too, organizing and hosting
a huge potluck meal for the working crews and the
others who came to lend a helping hand.
Everyone who gathered around the bountiful harvest
meal shared the events of the day, leaving the farm with
great satisfaction for a job well done. It was a special
day and one we all fondly remember.
Maybe we don't have much in the Lind Community
.....but we do have the things that count.
Maybe the best things in life aren't things.
Gloria and Reinhold watch the harvest action
Trucks line up waiting to unload
in the elevators
Photos on this page are compliments of Dyck Family, Judy Swannack, Steve & Sue Sackmann, Sherry Lund, Gary & Sharon Lobe, Sidney Wahl & Jennifer Larsen