There are many different gangs in this world but this is about a “Threshing Gang”, a dated and unique farmer’s experience, recounted here by someone who was there: with threshing machines, rack and horses along with the people who needed to cooperate in order to be able to harvest their crops.

Historically crops were first cut down with a scythe, allowed to dry and then gathered into a central spot where the threshing would take place with a flail (essentially a whip of different sorts that would release the grain from the husks), The straw would be removed and the precious grain gathered to be ground into meal and flour. A slow process that met the requirements of the time.

During the Industrial Revolution and the advent of machinery, larger tracts of land could be farmed and thus the evolution of Binders to cut and bundle the grains followed by threshing with large sophisticated machines sometimes referred to simply as “Threshers”. This story could take place between 1903 through the mid 1950s prior until the development of moving threshers, or combines, where a farmer may be able to be essentially independent as is the practice in current times in 2020.

So my blog entry is about the dated Threshing Machines and the men who operated them.

This photo is dated about 1904 and illustrates the machines replacing the historic scythe that reaped the standing grain. The Binder was so named as it would cut the crop and bind it with twine, into sheaves. Although each farmer would require a binder and team of horses, this photo has an early cooperative (Christian Communities Of Universal Brotherhood (CCUB)) working together to harvest. Later Binders were larger and required a team of four (4) horses. Much later, small tractors replaced the horses.

A foot operated lever would drop an accumulation of four (4) to five (5) sheaves into rows.

The sheaves (bundles) would then be “stooked” as in the photo. Usually a minimum of six (6) sheaves would form a stook that would be stable to withstand the prairies winds. Care by the “Stooker” who professionally erected the first two sheaves in a stable angle so that it formed the core. The next two sheaves were carefully placed, leaning into this core from each side. If the yield was large, often a sheave was placed from each end to use eight (8) sheaves. There were stooks with 10 sheaves with one placed on each end.

The purpose of the stook was to keep the grain from being in contact with the ground in the advent that a rain and a lengthy inclement weather, could cause the grain to sprout but with the stook, would quickly dry when the Sun came out again.

Care was taken to build the rows so that the teamster and rack could follow the row easily. Usually the horses became accustomed to following the rows on their own, adjusting enough clearance for the “Pitcher” to use a three (3) prong fork to load the sheaves. It is interesting to note that there never was an additional person to sort the sheaves on the rack. The Pitcher became an expert of aiming the sheaf to a location in order that the load would be balanced and not shift on the way to the threshing machine. The sheaves would be stacked about ten (10) horizontal rows, tapering to the top so that the total load was stable. It was amazing to watch these men perform load after load without incident. At age thirteen (13) I had my first “rig” and team of horses which were a “matched” pair of sisters (Molly and Jessie) from a mother mare, Queen. The teams would understand the commands from the Teamster which was interesting to watch.

It was the usual practice, that each farmer, desiring his crops be harvested,  would supply a team of horses, a rig, his fork and bedroll, There would be eight (8) farmers to efficiently, supply sheaves to the threshing machine which was owned by one farmer. This would allow four (4) rigs to each side of the threshing machine feeder. Each farmer usually farmed one quarter section (160 acres) but others had two quarters or more. To mitigate costs, the eight farmers would try to equalize their contribution but the crops were not uniform and so a record of time on each farm needed to be recorded and the agreed cost of each rig would be paid in cash for any additional time. The Owner of the threshing machine and tractor also had a weighted share and the farmers with rigs would try to “work off” their share. It was not that complicated and cooperation and need to help each other usually overcame any deficiencies.

In order to speed up the process (i.e. the threshing machine may be at a distance from the stooks), Field Pitchers were brought in to assist the teamsters to load their rigs. This person moved from one rig to the other. These were usually hired men whose cost was shared by the threshing unit.

Once the rack was loaded, the teamster would climb on top and drive his rig to the threshing machine and take his turn to unload into the Threshing Machine Feeder. Sometimes a friendly game was played in that some Teamsters were able to bring their load in faster than his regular spot in the line. Friendly “ribbing” took place so that the proud farmer did not want to ‘lose face’ amongst his peers.

This photo illustrates the teamster unloading sheaves into the feeder of the threshing machine. This machine, in this photo, is a smaller thresher that could only accept sheaves in one row. The machine in the next photo shows teamsters feeding from both sides .

The horses would be adjacent to moving belts and the dust of the threshing machine but soon become adjusted over time. In my experience, Molly and Jessie seemed to sense when the rack was almost empty and would start to “back up” (to clear the rack from extended moving parts of the threshing machine) so that I had to hurry to throw the last few sheaves as the horses were in a hurry to get away from the dust of and noise of the machine, and they would be at a gallop toward the row of stooks where we had left off. One needed to be quick to get control of the team.

Very interesting how animals have this intelligence!

My father (Wasyl) started his farming together with his three (3) brothers (John on extreme left, Wasyl, brother George and Sam on the right) as a cooperative. All families lived together. They were able to purchase a steam engine and a large threshing machine that is depicted in the above photo.

Straw was burned in the chamber that would heat water into steam and propel the piston that moved the engine as well as the pulley that drove the threshing machine. Everyone had a function and together the operation was a success.

Wasyl could neither read nor write but was provided with a Steam Engineer 3rd Class by the Saskatchewan Government.

Later a decision was made to have each family move to independent farms but they still threshed together into the late 1940s.

Gasoline Tractors replaced Steam Engines

When the Verigins separated, Wasyl was given the share of equipment which included the threshing machine and tractor which had replaced the steam engine. Our family moved some twenty-five (25) miles from the Verigin brothers (left near Veregin) and moving the machines became impractical and so Wasyl threshed with farmers surrounding his farm in Pelly.

Threshing together, had a social function for all those involved and became an anticipated pleasure that was looked forward to by many of the individuals.

Firstly, the purpose was of course to harvest the grains which would have been impractical at that time to achieve individually. By working together, they also visited and would share farming methods that assisted those that used the experience to learn from each farmer. The friendships that can be achieved through cooperation far outweighed the negative factors. It seemed that the “bad apples” of the previous year would be “weeded out” so that the new group could function together better in the ensuing year. The “grouping” would start in July, well ahead of harvest as each farmer was anxious to get included in the “gang”.

For the women on each farm, it was the responsibility to ensure that the workers were well fed. Competition by each farmer’s wife was to demonstrate their cooking skills and that they did:

1. Breakfast was very early and just after the teamsters fed their horses which the morning was well before dawn. Usually the menu was all from farm produce and included pan-fried potatoes and eggs (fried and boiled to preference of the teamsters). Cut up tomatoes mixed with onions and plenty of coffee
2. Dinner (all teamsters came back to the farmhouse to feed their horses as well as to eat) would include boiled chicken and or a stew. Again cut up vegetables and home baked bread was plentiful. Usually tea was the beverage of choice. Of course there were pieces of cake and cookies.
3. The mid afternoon Lunch was a treat. A large container (usually the basin that bread dough was mixed in (12 to 14 loaves at a time) was filled with sandwiches. A lot of butter on the bread and baloney filler. Gallon jugs of coffee, that was laced with “too much” cream and sugar, was the beverage. This was carried out to the threshing machine site and the teamsters ate as they came in and before they went out to the field. As a youth, my sister Mary and I had the responsibility of carrying all this to the crews and it was a heavy task as can be appreciated. We always had to wait until all the crews had their fill before we could partake in the feast. I remember the crew would see the saliva dripping from my mouth and they would pass a sandwich to me. There never was any coffee nor sandwiches left no matter how much was delivered to the hungry men.
4. Supper was usually at least two pots of Borsch, boiled potatoes and roast beef or pork (chicken, turkey, duck or goose) depending what the farmer’s wife wanted to do. Pickles and cut up vegetables were always present. Desserts would include puddings, cookies, etc. There was few left overs if any.
5. What was most interesting are the stories that floated around the large table that was always set out so that everyone could sit together. The “taller the tale” the greater the laughter. A great deal of “ribbing” took place at something that may have happened out in the field. Of course, the last rig would come to the farm in darkness and not everyone was properly orientated and so there were times that someone got lost and had to be looked for and the laughing that took place afterwards.
6. Usually a 1/2 section would take a maximum of two (2) days so each house wife needed to prepare accordingly. Obviously she wanted to impress these men so that they would go home and tell their wives what a good cook she was. Yes, competition was vey much in vogue in those days. The men looked forward to the farms where the “best cook” lived.
7. The teamsters had their own sweat laced bed rolls and would tend to find a corner in the house to stretch out very soon after they tended to the horses.

This blog is about the era of the small farmer and draft horses with 160 to 480 acre farms. The railways were all anxious to provide freight service and organized communities about every ten (10) miles or so along their railway right of way. Grain companies built elevators to receive grain from the farmers and transport same to market. So it was acceptable that the farmer used his horses to deliver his grain to these elevators

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With the move to larger machinery and the combines, farms are now a minimum of 7,000 acres. Large grain tractor trailers are able to move grain a larger distance so that the five (5) elevator villages were replaced with modern computerized grain handling facilities that service about five or more of the original villages with one facility. This had the social economic effect on rural population. Small farmers do not raise any farm animals and thus farming practices have changed dramatically .

I am saddened as I recall five (5) neighbours to our farm where today there are not any at all. The five (5) elevators that rose in the skyline in each community do not exist anymore.

Under construction by Elmer Verigin February 21, 2020, 1145 hours