[July 24, 2012]    

Before there was electricity going to all farms, engines were used for a number of daily purposes. Robert Lessen and John Wibben collect these workhorses and brought two flatbeds full of their favorites to show at the Emden Homecoming.

[LDN]

Listening to Lessen is a lesson on early farm life and how things got done. His engines date back to 1915.

Grain grinder: Notice the large red funnel where grain was poured in to grind. Lessen said he had ground grain fine enough for personal baking with a grinder.

 

 

Pump jack: Note the red pump with large spigot and handle. There is a big wooden barrel under the black tarp. This engine-driven pump helped water livestock when wind was not blowing sufficiently.

Green and yellow -- what else could it be but an old John Deere? This is a feed grinder. Some engines began with gasoline and then switched to less costly kerosene to continue running.

 

This farm pump by Fuller & Johnson  Manufacturing Co., Madison, Wis., is air-cooled. Notice the convoluted circular fins that provide more surface area for cooling.

Lessen pointed out some of the differences between engines as they developed, such as the larger gears on an engine with more cylinders, or igniters that were later replaced by spark plugs to spark combustion, and the development of hit-and-miss engines that waited loads to fire.