Growing up on the prairies meant farming was a way of life for the majority of residents in the province of Saskatchewan.
Machinery and farming practices have changed over the years, but many people still enjoy learning about the ways others once lived on the land. Collectors and hobbyists in the area have taken a keen interest in this part of history of the prairies. With this enthusiasm an Old Time Harvest Day was hosted on Saturday, Aug. 27, at the Wilson farm south of Wawota.
A perimeter surrounding the event, which attracted approximately 200 people, was set up by using both functional and non-functional machinery “from a bygone era,” Kevin Wilson explained.
Wilson said his family planted the wheat used in the demonstration day early in the year, then dessicated it in order to ensure it would be ready to be harvested.
“We actually left the wheat standing, so we swathed it that day and ran the binder,” Wilson explained. “For farm days like these the thresher is usually the star of the show, but the binder is actually the unsung hero because it’s work is usually done prior to the event and the binder is usually just sitting there having done its behind the scenes work.”
“The binder creates the sheaves that can then be pitched into the thresher, so we were excited for people to see that. Then everybody wanted to help out, so we hadn’t planned on it, but everybody helped out. We had six or eight pitch forks and everyone took turns. It was really exciting for people to see every aspect of the process.”
Wilson said that approximately 350 sheaves were put through the thresher in a matter of an hour and a half that afternoon following the binder demonstration. The same tractors Ken Wilson and Colton Wilson took to Austin, MB, on July 31, for the world record setting thresher day; these machines being a 1917 20-40 Case tractor and a 1928 Red River Special threshing machine.
Antique combines also ran throughout the day, on and off, to showcase a variety of different makes and models. Additionally there were antique tractors there doing plowing, disking, and cultivating. All while mechanically adept friends worked on single cylinder antique engines from the 1930s and getting them to run.
“It was a really well rounded day and if we can we would like to do it again next year around this time,” Wilson stated. “After that we might do it every other year to keep the interest alive, but we’re definitely going to try to do it again next year.”
Wilson was pleased with the event and was happy to see people of all ages enjoying the demonstrations.
“Infants to individuals in their 90s were there,” Wilson said. “I had one friend who brought his dad out and his dad is in a wheelchair, but they wheeled right out into the field, across the stubble, to be right there to watch. It was one of those things that brought back memories because that would have been his life as a young man; he was totally elated.”
“I have an 80-year-old neighbour who had also come out and he got right in there telling the younger guys that he would show them how they used to do it. And he got right up there working because again he would have grown up doing that work.”
The idea to host the event developed in the Wilson family well over a year ago as they have a lot of friends involved in the hobby. It was made even more exciting after Wilson’s father (Ken) and son (Colton) returned from Austin, Manitoba, last month where they participated in the world record setting event there: more than 150 threshing outfits broke the Guinness World Record of the most threshers operating at once.
“That event really spawned the interest of our friends, family, and neighbours,” Wilson explained. “They really saw the fun there and we couldn’t wait to host our threshing day here.”
Also in attendance were the Moose Mountain Air Cadets who brought their lunch wagon out at 10:30 a.m. and stayed for the afternoon ensuring everyone was well fed.
The day almost went off without a hitch, but even though a small bail fire caught, it was out before it really started with everyone pitching in to help put it out and all that was lost was the bail.
Wilson said that in the end, “It was one of those great days where you left in a positive frame of mind and a smile on your face.”
