1918 Grain Drill Still Plants Every Year

1918 Grain Drill Still Plants Every Year DRILLS Drills (42C) 25-4-17 Every year since 1918, the Gilbertson family of Hollandale, Wis., has used their Van Brunt grain drill to seed oats and grass. The 8-ft. wide steel-wheeled drill originally had two tongues and was designed to be pulled by three horses. Today, it still has steel wheels, but the two tongues have been replaced by a single one that attaches to their 20 hp Ferguson tractor. The grain drill was purchased in February 1918 by Martin Gilbertson. "It came on the railroad in a package. The implement dealer my father bought it from had already been drafted for World War I and wasn't around to assemble it, so my father had to put it together," says Otis, Martin's son. Otis's son Mark and grandson Erik now use the drill so it has been used by the family for four generations and recently planted its 83rd crop. The men use the drill to plant 15 to 20 acres every year. "My father enjoyed pulling it with the horses but quit operating it once the horse tongues were removed in the early 1950's," says Otis. "From then on, my brother Burnell or I have operated it every year. We even used it to plant Roundup Ready soybeans last year, with great success." The Gilbertsons say they've received some good-natured teasing from neighbors for planting with the drill. But Otis says they've also received compliments on how well-seeded the fields are where the grain drill is used. "The drill doesn't have a metering system - you just pull a lever to open or shut the openings inside the boxes. The seed openings are worn so it seeds heavier than when it was new." The drill is still made of its original wood, which Otis sprays with linseed oil every year. "People ask us what we do for parts, but we don't need any because the drill is made well and dad took care of it," says Otis. "We keep it in a shed all the time, even at night during the planting season." Otis says that the grain drill hasn't ever needed much for repairs, but they have fixed a couple problems on it. "One problem was that grass seed dropped in front of the discs and got covered too deep. We wanted to leave the seed on top so we extended the seed tubes and ran them out behind. We also had a problem with dirt getting into bearings on the discs. We solved the problem by knocking the porcelain off spark plugs and attaching them to the discs. Other than that, we've never put a new part on the drill." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Otis Gilbertson, Box 83, Hollandale, Wis. 53544 (ph 608 967-2120).

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