EPISODE 784 “MY NAME IS SAMUEL MERNER { WHY DOES NO-ONE LOVE MY THRESHING MACHINE?”
alan skeoch
March 22, 2023
1890’s Hamburg Threshing Machine made by Samuel and Simeon Merner
SAMJUEL MERNER SPEAKS FROM THE GRAVE…Imaginary conversation aided by Alan Skeoch
“My name is Samuel Merner, I build threshing machines and cannot for the life of
me understand why you do not love them as I do.”
“Mr. Merner, this is the year 2023, the days of the threshing machine are long gone. We now
use motorized combine harvesters. Your machines are just dust collectors in museums.”
“Now that hurts my feelings…’dust collectors’ is an insult.”
“Tell me about yourself, Mr. Merner, maybe we can appreciate you more.”
“My parents migrated here from Switzerland in 1837 when I was 14 years old. Got a small
farm near New Hamburg where others like us, so called Pennsyvania Dutch people had setled…Germanic
people from the Rhine River Valley.”
“Are they those people dressed in black?”
“Mennonites and some Amish. Protestants.”
“How is that connected to threshing machines?”
“Long story. As a boy I was fascinated by the local blacksmith and was lucky enough
to be trained as such. Farmers needed metal tools. I began making them and opened a shop
in New Hamburg in 1844. “
“Alone?”
My son Simeon Merner also became a blacksmith and both of us began making bigger machines.
…threshing machines.”
“Like the machine you want to give away today?”
“The machine I would like to give to a museum was made around 1890…we kept improving our
threshing machines but tried to keep them as small as possible.”
“Local market?”
“No. Our machines were sold all across Ontario and even on the
western prairies.
Threshing machines have hearts as we humans do. This is the
heart of a thresher….the Cylinder that spins ripping gran sheaves apart
and hurling the grain….
VOICE FROM THE GRAVE: SAMUEL MERNER (assisted by Alan Skeoch)
“OUR company was specially successful after my death.”
(Imaginry dialogue continues)
” By 1897 investors helped form the New Hamburg Manufacturing
Company.”
“How come?”
“My son Simeon was a good businessman and our company was able to lure
Werner Brodrecht as manager back in 1888…his skill expanded the business and
we even begn making tratcion steam engines.”
“The factory burned down in 1901…”
“Yes, but we rebuilt the whole operation and were successful until 1914 when we failed.
“Attempts to revive New Hamburg Manufacturing in the 1920’s failed thereby endning 80 years
of production”
“I take it yo are disappointed today Samuel. “
“I am. I would like to donate this sole survivor of our company’s threshing machines but
no one seems to care.”
“I thought the booming city of Mississauga had the machine.”
“Yes, donated by Alan Skeoch. But Mississauga had no place for a threshing machine
and no real interest in agriculture. Someone called Alan and asked him to get
the machine out of the tiny Bradley Museum barn. So Alan and his Son Andrew persuaded
Bill Books to store it in his drive shed while they searched for a new home. “
“Where?”
“Well, first attempted to make contact with the Wellington County Museum who have a huge barn
with a largely empty threshing floor. Perfect place. “
“No response.”
“Recently made contact with Doon Pioneer Village. Alan gave them a beautifully stencilled
thresher a few years ago…”
“Any response?”
“Yes, they are considering the offer.”
“What is the problem with museums?”
“Running a museum is a thankless job. Viisitors are few in number. Storage space limited.
Staff limited as well. If tax revenue shrinks then first thing on the discard block is local
museums.”
“What about the Province of Ontario.\?
“Are you trying to be funny. The Province of Ontario does not give
a sweet goddamn about agricultural artifacts. Look what happened to
the Ontario Agricultural Museum in Milton.”
“Put in mothballs 20 years ago. Now just sits there on precious land…and let the cobwebs thrive.”
“Samuel, what do you think will happen to your ancient thresher?”
“It will go to the dump once Bill and Leah Brooks need the space in their machine shop in Limehouse.”
“How did Alan Skeoch get your threshing machine in the first place?”
“He bought it at an auction of the Thompson collection 40 years ago…
bought four threshing machines that day.””
“Why?”
“He said he could not stand to see historic artifacts like our Hamburg Thresher go
to the scrap man.”
“Why would a scrap man want a threshing machine?”
“For the iron parts. They set those old wooden machines of fire and gather up
the pulleys and threshing cylinders and haul them to the steel mill in Hamilton
or any local scrap yard.”
GHOST OF SAMUEL MERNER SPOKE (aided by Alan Skeoch)
