The Weekend Historian
My Father-in-Law gave me his dad's old Mercury II camera a couple of years. His dad, John, bought this camera while serving in the US Navy in the late 1940s; it has his initials, serial number, and "USN" engraved on the camera. This one is a little more sophisticated than other vintage cameras I have used, but… Continue reading Snapshots with Mercury II Camera
Hello again to my blog followers! Sorry for my brief hiatus from blogging. Life has been super busy with Molly and I buying a house and moving. Now we are pretty much settled in and the work begins! There are so many things to tackle, but our first project is to fix our 1920s Crane… Continue reading Faucet Fiasco
I created an Allis-Chalmers History Museum a few months back and have been making some progress on it. Right now it is just webpage powered by Omeka.net I am hoping that it can be a major source of information for Allis-Chalmers enthusiasts. Instead of it just being solely about tractors or other products, I am… Continue reading Museum Progress
Scanning through old newspapers can be a great source of local AC history. I found these local dealership ads in our area newspapers. Check your local library for newspaper microfilms. You can also access some newspapers on Google Newspaper Archive or Newspaper Archive. Addition sources may be available through local historical societies, universities, and libraries.
The 1893 World's Columbian Exposition was a celebration of the 400th anniversary of the discovery of the New World, and the achievement of a city. Countries all over the world, businesses across the United States, and inventions were among the featured showcases at the exposition. Among the showcased industrial firms was the Edward P. Allis Company of Milwaukee,… Continue reading Pride of Machinery Hall
For those of you who own a Roto-Baler, do you want to know what year your machine was made? First off you need to find the location of the serial number on your baler. If you have a manual for the machine it tells you where to find the number. For those of you who… Continue reading Roto-Baler Serial Numbers & Production
The Allis-Chalmers Roto-Baler is arguably one of the most complex farm machines ever devised. The machine was ahead of its time, and the company advertised it as the "turning point in hay history." Although the Roto-Baler was a revolutionary farm machine in its day, there were and still are dangers in operating this baler. I… Continue reading Roto-Baler Safety
No 4. Science Aids the Farmer
If you would have bought an Allis-Chalmers Roto-Baler back in the day, you would need something to understand how the machine worked. The buyer would have received his operator’s manual, but I am not sure of the circumstances a buyer would have received this small booklet. This booklet has some information about the Roto-Baler setup… Continue reading How To Run Your Roto-Baler
Here are #3 and #5 of the Story of Man and Food by Allis-Chalmers. Unfortunately, I am missing #4. Could anyone help me out?
Austin M. Frederick 