One of the highlights of last year’s Half Century of Progress Show was to watch old iron work in the fields. For a couple of young men, the joy was twofold: They not only got to watch, but take part in such fieldwork.

The group that came to the Half Century call themselves the Double D Cornshellers and they even had shirts made to identify them.

They come from different towns and backgrounds, but all have one thing in common – a love of corn shelling and working in the field.
One member, Louis Cassens of Flora, Ind., shared, “My grandfather farmed and my dad has a Christmas tree farm. I have been around equipment my entire life and have always found it interesting. I enjoy all types of antiques and anything old. I find it fascinating how things were done and how people got these machines to work and make a living with them.

“With this background, I went to Purdue and got a degree in Agricultural Engineering and enjoy my career path very much. It allows me to be able to design products and then have the hands-on experience of getting them working and through the shop.”
Watching these young men work at the Half Century of Progress, it was easy to see they embody the love of old equipment. While this is common in older farmers or those of the older generation who are enamored with the old equipment, this is a bit unusual for the younger generation.

“I believe there are many reasons why I enjoy the old farm equipment so much,” Louis said. “My background lends itself well to mechanical equipment. I think it is a challenge, but very enjoyable, to be able to work on the equipment and get it operational.

“It is also very enjoyable to get to the shows and show people how it worked. A lot of the people are seeing these machines run for the first time and will have a better understanding of how farm equipment has developed over time. There is also the other group of people that ran this equipment in their past that always have good stories and varied memories of it.”

He added, “The Double D shelling crew is a good group of guys and can get things done. All this leads to a lot of fun once everything is up and running.”

The group brought an array of items to the show, from a 1941 JD H, a 1931, to a JD Round Tube elevator. This was Blaine Brubaker’s fourth Half Century Show. He explained a bit about details of the equipment they brought and why they go to so much effort:
“I grew up on a farm in the (19)50s and 60s when the pickers and shellers were used. We would put the picker on the tractor and use it to strip the ear corn from the stalk and haul it in a wagon to the corn crib for storage, until it was needed for feed for livestock. Sometimes the corn was taken from the crib and put through a portable sheller like it was at the Half Century Show.

“We enjoy preserving farm history for younger generations to learn about early farm life. The gratification is when you get a retired gentleman with a big smile on his face remembering his younger years, or explaining a piece of machinery to a grandchild how they used to tackle the task of harvesting. This is what it is all about: Putting a smile on somebody’s face and bringing back memories of their own.

“The reason we travel two hours to do this is at most shows, the machinery just sits for display. The attendance at the Half Century shows that people want to see equipment running in the field. Rantoul (Ill.) is the only place that really demonstrates the equipment, so we take a week from normal life and enjoy the show,” Blaine added.

Gary Sage said the Double D Corn Shelling Crew, “They were a great bunch of kids. I think it’s great to get some young people involved. They had a nice display and were very self-sufficient. I loved seeing the grandpas and dads telling how it used to be.
“There was a lot of reminiscing and showing kids how it was done. If clubs don’t have these shows, people won’t know about it, and it is history in the works.”

Shawn Ashby said admirers of old iron can watch their club’s website online at www.perfective.com/ccatmc for more details. Shawn added, “Next fall, the first weekend in September on Saturday (unless they change the date), we will be having a fall field day at Blaine Brubaker’s place just north of Flora, Indiana.

“We have corn picking, silage cutting, corn binding, threshing wheat, plowing, hay loader running, baling straw, sweep rake and whatever else anyone comes up with.”

Check the website for more details, as time draws closer for this event.

Readers with questions or comments for Cindy Ladage may write to her in care of this publication.