Old Time Photographs

We drove to Enderlin last week for the express purpose of viewing old pictures in their museum. A high school classmate and friend Susan Schlecht has been involved with that community’s effort in preserving items from the past and I knew she’d be helpful. As it turned out Myrene Peterson was on duty that day, but she called Susan who soon arrived and the four of us spent some enjoyable time together.

I wanted to see old pictures of my hometown of Sheldon that have been preserved and presented to the museum by a Sheldonite Tom Spiekermeier. Fortunately, he has devoted personal time and money to projects like this which benefit the history lovers among us. 

Above my desk I’ve hung a copy of one of the pictures he’s reproduced: a threshing crew and a threshing machine pulled by a steam tractor crossing a ford on the Sheyenne River south of Anselm. I always marvel at the quality of old-time photography and the sharp quality of its images. This one is no exception. The brand name of the steamer shows clearly to be a Buffalo-Pitts and is hitched to a Nichols and Shepard thresh machine. Behind stands a bundle wagon, and in the water on either side of the steamer is a horse and buggy and a water wagon. At least thirteen men appear in the scene. Another hazy form might be hidden in the smoke and steam from the engine.

The picture was taken in 1901 or some short years after. How would I know that? An article appeared in the Sheldon Enterprise newspaper of that year stated this information: “ July 19, 1901 - Fred Wall and brother Alfred have bought a fine new threshing outfit and will make the straw fly this fall.”

Another dated August 30, 1901 stated, “Last Friday was a damp day and made threshing a slow process, yet Fred Wall seems to have gotten there with both feet. He threshed on that day 2121 bushels of wheat, 90 bushels of oats, and 32 bushels of barley. The total time in the field was 11 hours and five moves were made during the day. The separator was a 40-60 Nichols and Shepard and a Pitts 22 H. P. engine.”