| A threshing scene in a field. One man pitches grain into a threshing machine while standing on the load of grain in the wagon pulled by two horses. A second man stands on the threshing machine, which appears to be belt-driven by a green tractor on the left. The straw is blown out of a stacking pipe onto a pile. A pile of straw, a white chicken and three fence posts are in the foreground. In the background is a fence, trees, green hills and blue sky. The following is a recollection from the creator: "Threshing. At the end of the summer, the threshing machine, owned cooperatively with several farm neighbors, was pulled to the field and placed south of the barn. One of my favorite photographs, taken by my mother with the Kodak box camera, shows the threshing machine, powered by the old tractor turning the long, twisted belt, blowing straw into the air and into the growing stack. One man is on the horse-drawn wagon, pitching grain bundles into the hopper of the thresher; another stands atop the enormous machine, tending the threshed oats. A white leghorn hen is in the lower left-hand corner of the picture. Threshing time depended on the readiness of each farmer’s crop of grain. When our grain was threshed, it was the responsibility of my mother to prepare and serve the noon meal to the threshing crew. Several farm wives would come to help her with the large dinners on the two or three days that the crew worked at our farm. My mother would return the help when the crew moved on to another farm. Promptly at noon, the power belt from the tractor was released and the machine would fall silent. The load of grain bundles remaining on the wagon would wait until after the noon hour. The horses were placed in a shady spot and given water, and their feedbags were attached. The metal-frame washstands, complete with Lava soap and towels, were set up in the back yard. After each thresher washed, immersing his face in the white enamel pan, the water was thrown out and fresh water was poured for the next man. The workers seated themselves on the back porch at the long oak table whose extra leaves had been added, along with additional leaves borrowed from a neighbor, to make a place for everyone. The food would arrive: mashed potatoes, meat, and gravy, followed by hot apple pie and chunks of cheddar cheese for dessert. The smoothness of the mashed potatoes established the quality of the meal. My mother would receive compliments from the well-fed crew, and some men would then wander off to finish the hour with a short nap under the Chinese elms."
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