THE BEGINNING OF THE END OF THE Threshing Ring

After reading the story of the Allis-Chalmers All-Crop combine in the May issue of Farm Collector, I thought these recollections might be of interest to readers.

My dad, being a progressive farmer, purchased an Allis-Chalmers combine on June 20, 1938 at a price of $720. He traded in a team of 3-year-old horses, one 10-foot binder and a cultivator for a balance due of $80, paid in cash.

This was at the start of the decline of threshing rings. After the terrible heat of 1936, I can believe this was a great incentive to get away from the drudgery of oat harvesting. After Dad got the machine, everybody wanted him to cut their oats. We could see that from entries in my mother’s diary:

July 14, finished at McLaughlin’s. July 15, combining at Gallagher’s.