Black Hills Trail: Old Baldy, Sept. 17, 2018

 On Monday morning we made the trek west of Spearfish, SD to hike the Old Baldy trail. It is a loop trail that is very different from most of our hikes. Number 1, cows are in the area and 2, you are hiking in grass and forest, not negotiating rocks. The morning was beautiful and my primary regret is that I didn't take any pictures of all the downed trees. This area had a tornado and along with Spearfish Canyon suffered the loss of hundreds of trees. We were amazed at the size of the downed trees and the effort that went into clearing the trail so it could be used.

 Yes, these are our fall colors, we don't have the variety of colors but the yellow and green is beautiful.

 I have no idea what these signs mean so please comment below if you do.

 Our fall color is about 50% of peak. Forecast is that peak color will arrive September 29 which is when this post should publish.

 Summit view from Old Baldy. Not sure where the name came from because there are trees all around the summit. It is not "bald."

Andover, SD: James Valley Threshers

 The real reason we drove to Andover was to see the first public display of this Case 150-HP Road Locomotive. Statistics: 25' long, 10' wide; rear wheels are 8' tall and the front wheels reached my shoulders. Kory Anderson began his research on this machine as young person and decided he wanted to bring it back to life. That meant accessing the drawings from Case and using his mechanical engineering degree to build this machine. "Mahogany molds for the parts would be cast at Dakota Foundry in Webster, SD. The services of an Amish boilermaker in Ohio would be secured (West River Electric, p 8)." This machine pulled a 24 bottom plow for a demonstration.

 Water tank for this machine holds about 500 gallons. 2750 pounds of coal can be carried and it can pull a 50 ton load up a 10 percent grade. Unloaded, a 40 percent grade can be scaled. Pictures do not do this machine justice. It cost over a million dollars to build while its original cost was right around $4000.

West River Electric, September 2018, p. 8-9.

http://jamesvalleythreshers.com/

Andover, SD: James Valley Threshers

 Something many of us haven't seen done in years, plowing. Amazing demonstration of a steam tractor pulling a 8 bottom plow. Platform allowed for the workers to adjust depth of the cut while moving. I was amazed at how quiet these machines were while working.

 The roller smoothing out the parade route.

Andover, SD: James Valley Threshers

 Can't miss taking a picture of road equipment on display. This roller was pretty amazing and during the parade served to pack down the road after numerous steam engines cut deep tracks.

 Vick is a bit over 5' so you get an idea of how big the tractor is. The operator was also tall which is why I wanted Vick to stand by the tractor. Helps with perspective. Most of the steam tractors were like this and had a 12" addition on the normal wheel (this one is very red), it was to help with traction.

 Now you have an example of a small steam engine. It was good to see the young people involved in this living history project.

Andover, SD: James Valley Threshers

 First two pictures go together. I had never seen a piece of equipment quite like this one. Seems pretty efficient for taking care of gravel roads or moving snow.

 This young lady had been preparing for the parade where she drove this Farmall. It looked just like the one I remember from my school days. She did a great job handling the tractor in the parade.

 This guy was everywhere on this old motorcycle, the keg on the back was his gas tank and here he was visiting with a guy and his Model T.

 This Cockshutt (Oliver) was built in Canada. I've attached a link http://www.yesterdaystractors.com/articles/artint190.htm if you want more information about these tractors.

 Efficiency, plow, disc, plant in a simple operation.

Andover, SD: James Valley Threshers

 On September 6th Vick and I decided to travel to East River (east of Missouri River), camp at the Mina Lake Recreation Area and then visit the threshing show in Andover on Friday. We didn't realize the number of tractors that would be there so I'll do several posts with pictures of the event. To give you an idea of the area, we drove past sunflower fields that were a mile long and probably nearly the same wide, cornfields that had to be nearly 1,000 acres and nearly ready for harvest. We are definitely used to central Illinois farming which is small compared to scope and scale of this part of South Dakota. To get an idea of where we traveled get out your atlas or search for a map of South Dakota online and type in Andover. If using a map, find Aberdeen (26,000 people) and go east on Rt. 12 and you'll see Andover (2010 population was 91). There were 4000 of us at the steam show on Friday which was wonderful and it was a great history lesson in ag technology.

Upper picture looked like the tractor I played on at Grandpa Schurter's farm. It's a Massey-Ferguson getting ready to be restored. This appeared to be in exactly the same condition as I remember the one on the farm. I'm counting on someone to correct my failing memory.

 Vick found a restored version of the Ford she remembered driving. Hopefully someone in her family will see this and correct her if that tractor was newer than 1947.

Cold War: Part 3

I've moved further into the 1956 publication entitled "Facts." We experienced the Cold War in the past but we also have a new Cold War in this modern age of technology. I imagine enemies of the United States spending endless amounts of time and money trying to hack our power grids. The mass confusion and fear that could cause is hard to imagine. As we look back and smile at some of our fears from 60 years later may the same be true for our children and grandchildren.

Cold War Era: Part 2

Cold War Era: 1956

 Decided to take a break from my Dad's ledger to spend some time on the Cold War. 1956 was definitely a tense time in American History. President Eisenhower was dealing with Southeast Asia, planning an interstate highway system, and the potential atomic or nuclear holocaust that could occur at any moment. I was an innocent toddler at the time this booklet was published. We were racing to stay ahead of the Soviet Union but Eisenhower always told people what they were going to have to pay to enjoy some sense of security. The middle class had grown, industry was booming, and if you would like to see our debt compared to GDP check out this link.  https://www.thebalance.com/national-debt-by-year-compared-to-gdp-and-major-events-3306287

Now, take a look at the tax brackets. https://www.tax-brackets.org/federaltaxtable/1956

This begins to explain how the middle class was so large and even if the wealthy had great accountants to reduce their taxable income Uncle Sam was still going to get a healthy percentage of your income.