Henry Naber's Threshing Rig
January/February 1994
Chuck Sindelar
S47 W22300 Lawnsdale Rd. Waukesha, Wisconsin 53186
The late Henry Naber (1891-1943) farmed and did custom threshing
and corn shelling in Seward County, Nebraska, near Beaver Crossing,
from about 1910 to 1943, when his health forced him to turn the
operation over to his son, Ernie.
His engine (see photo) was a return flue Huber, believed to be
of 30 HP. Note the unusual two wheel tender. The top is filled with
coal, and the sides appear to be tool boxes. The men are not
stacking straw, so they probably do not intend to save it. In areas
where straw was not needed it was commonplace to 'torch the
stack' before moving on to the next set merely to be rid of
it.
My grandfather, Frank Sindelar, 'followed the harvest'
for several seasons 'somewhere in the big wheat fields out
West.' He told of how the smoke from a torched stack was a
signal that could be seen for many miles. It meant that that set
was finished, and the rig was 'on the move' towards the
next set.
Local 'cornhuskers' today deny that any straw piles were
ever burned in their area. 'Nothing was wasted,' they say.
Obviously that practice was dictated by local needs and
customs.
Note the dog, though somewhat blurred no doubt by movement, near
the wheel of the tender. The lush growth in the foreground appears
too uniform to be merely weeds. It has been suggested that it may
be alfalfa. Do any of you have a better idea?
The rear wheel of a separator appears exceptionally wide, maybe
with as much as a 12 inch tire. This would indicate a large
separator and/or soft ground in this area. Note the divider board
in the feeder and the type of grain being fed into the jaws of this
hungry monster. It appears loose, rather than in bundles, and the
straw appears to be very long.
One of Henry's old neighbors, Cloyd Cooper, now living in
Seward, Nebraska, remembers Henry as having a Minneapolis separator
with this rig. Maybe some of you can confirm that this one is
indeed a 'Minnie.' Mr. Cooper laughed when he recently told
his daughter Ruth Marie about an incident he remembered involving
this particular engine. It seems that one spring a wooden culvert
under a road had been heaved up by the frost. Cloyd's father
wanted all the neighbors to petition the county to have it fixed.
When Henry was asked to sign the petition he told them, 'not
necessary as old Mr. Huber will take care of it.' And, sure
enough, after passing over the raised culvert a few times with
'old Mr. Huber' it was pushed back down where it should
be.