Back in the Day: Vintage farm practices come alive at Bos Bros. Historical Farm near Erie

ERIE – Visitors to the Bos Brothers Historical Farm’s Old-Fashioned Fall Harvest on Saturday got a real taste – literally – of what field to table means.

Antique farm machinery in a rainbow of colors and styles descended on the Bos Brothers Historical Farm on Springhill Road south of Erie to give visitors a glimpse of how farmers reaped corn and soybeans before the days of automated, air-conditioned combines aided by global positioning for field navigation.

“You can step into a cornfield here and see the corn get picked, then shelled, milled and then to the table,” said Katie Lewis, the daughter of Chuck Bos, who with his brother Kevin started the harvest shows in 2016.

Antique farming machinery in action Corn was picked and processed on site.

“They have a love of everything old and they used to joke between them that they owned enough machinery to do a show,” Lewis said. “So they finally did it nine years ago.”

The Bos farm family alternates its harvest show with its threshing show on odd and even years. This year was a harvest show that had all kinds of farming-related demonstrations and hands-on events for kids. Next year, threshing will take center stage in July.

Saturday’s show was the prefect outing for Shawna Behal of Wilton, Iowa, who smiled as her daughter, Everly, 5, ran the hand corn sheller as other kids pumped water from the nearby hand pump.

“That’s what’s really nice about this show,” Shawna said. “The kids can really try things.”

Those “things” included blacksmithing, wood turning, weaving and other artisan crafts.

Nolan Huber, 9, of Milan listened intently as Daryl Drennen, of the Hillbilly Hollow Blacksmith Shop, showed him how to make a metal stamp with his name on it.

The real draw Saturday was the behemoth tractors that performed a variety of chores, including picking corn, plowing, mowing, spreading manure and powering a sawmill.

Andy Hinrichs of Oregon, Neal and Jack Stange of Emerson and Allen Smith of Grand Mound, Iowa, aligned big cedar tree trunks at the mill and guided them through the blade to form the trunks into squares. The square trunks then moved onto another piece of antique machinery to be cut into shingles.

Steam powered sawmill at Bos. Bros. Fall Harvest Charles Hubbard of Chana used his 1916 Case steam tractor to power the sawmill. (Earleen Hinton)

Charles Hubbard of Chana shoveled coal into his 1916 Case steam tractor that powered a large saw blade through a series of long belts.

“We’re running coal today,” Hubbard said as he operated the 20,000-pound tractor that was used by his grandfather. “I grew up with it and when it became available, I was able to buy it at an auction. It’s always been a local tractor as far as I know.”

The connection to heritage clearly was evident at Saturday’s show. Kevin Bos jumped onto his 1966 propane powered John Deere with a two-row mounted New Idea corn picker add-on and sped out to a nearby cornfield to get more corn. He passed another Bos tractor, the behemoth Aultman and Taylor kerosene powered beast owned by Chuck and Diane Bos.

Antique farm machinery hit the fields near Erie at Bos Bros. Harvest event Chuck and Diane Bos' giant Aultman and Taylor kerosene powered antique tractor was one of the vintage pieces of equipment at the Bos Bros. Historical Farm.

The popular 30-60, complete with 90-inch drive wheels and standing 11.5 feet tall and more than 18 feet long, was produced from 1910 until the company was sold in 1924.

For the somewhat younger crowd, a Muscle Tractor Plowing demonstration using “muscle tractors” from the 1960s and 1970s pulled their plows alongside one another, showcasing their mechanical muscle one-half mile south of the show site.

Kathy Smith of Erie was kept busy throughout the day baking cornbread in the cook shack, a wooden shack that was wheeled out to threshers in the field so they could eat without having to leave the field to return home.

“The corn is picked right here, they bring it to the mill and then they bring the cornmeal over to me and I bake the cornbread in that oven,” Smith said, pointing to the antique stove in the corner.

Antique farming machinery in action Corn was picked and processed on site.

During the Bos farm’s threshing show, the cook shack is used to bake wheat bread from wheat that is picked and processed on site.

Shows are free and other collectors of antique machinery are welcome to participate.

“Anyone can come and bring their own equipment,” Lewis said. “We want people to come and see where their food comes from. We want it to be educational and fun for the kids.”

Lewis said the shows would not be possible without the support of Bos’ friends and neighbors.

“We have so many friends and families that help us,” Lewis said. “We couldn’t do it without them.”

Next year’s threshing show will be July 25-27, 2025. For more information, visit Bos Brothers Historical Farm at https://www.bosbroshistoricalfarm.com.

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Two people watch as Chuck and Diane Bos's giant Aultman and Taylor kerosene powered antique tractor navigates its way through a corn field at the Bos Bros. Historical Farm Old Fashioned Fall Harvest on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024. The popular 30-60 was produced from 1910 until the company was sold in 1924. Displays of antique ag equipment and hands-on demonstrations of past agricultural chores were offered at the event. (Earleen Hinton)