Minnesota Inventor Built First Powered Road Grader

2013 - Volume #37, Issue #4, Page #23

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Whenever you see a power road grader moving dirt, gravel or snow, Arnold Zempel of Montevideo, Minn., would like you to credit Adolph Ronning, a prolific inventor who was born in 1893 and grew up on a Boyd, Minn., farm.
    He created and patented a one-operator powered road grader at a time when other manufacturers made township graders pulled by horses that required two men – one to drive the horses and one to operate the grader. Ronning didn’t have the money to manufacture it himself, and companies weren’t interested in investing to retool for Ronning’s design.
    So, Ronning hired Central Machinery in Minneapolis to build a few of the graders, and he demonstrated one of them at the Minnesota State Fair in 1924. Instead of manufacturing it, he sold licenses to 22 companies, who paid him $12.50 for every grader they sold. Suddenly Ronning’s design was everywhere with different names on it. Townships appreciated the power unit because of the labor savings.
    In 2003, Zempel became part of Ronning’s history when he reassembled the grader that debuted at the fair. He discovered it disassembled in Ronning’s daughter’s shed near Montevideo. Adair Ronning Kelley readily agreed to Zempel restoring part of her father’s history. A 2003 photo shows her driving it for the first time.
    “Ronning didn’t reinvent the wheel. He just rearranged everything and improved on things,” Zempel says. He used a Fordson tractor and Russell Junior Grader and mounted it on a channel frame that rested on a yoke on the front axle.
    Zempel couldn’t find all the parts so he made some of them based on photos from the Ronning archives.
    The grader is just one of a multitude of inventions and patents Ronning developed to make work easier, Zempel says. Ronning initiated one of his most significant pieces of equipment with his brother, Andrean, before he graduated from high school. The horse-drawn silage harvester later developed into several patents for a motorized silage harvester, which reduced labor by 50 percent or more and is the origin of silage equipment used today.
    Zempel adds that Ronning had hundreds of patents including World War II inventions, such as a wobble-stick control in the M46 General Patton tank that earned Ronning a citation for his valuable contributions to the war effort.
    Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Arnold Zempel, 150 60th St. S.E., Montevideo, Minn. 56265 (ph 320 269-8003).

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Minnesota Inventor Built First Powered Road Grader AG WORLD Whenever you see a power road grader moving dirt gravel or snow Arnold Zempel of Montevideo Minn would like you to credit Adolph Ronning a prolific inventor who was born in 1893 and grew up on a Boyd Minn farm He created and patented a one-operator powered road grader at a time when other manufacturers made township graders pulled by horses that required two men – one to drive the horses and one to operate the grader Ronning didn’t have the money to manufacture it himself and companies weren’t interested in investing to retool for Ronning’s design So Ronning hired Central Machinery in Minneapolis to build a few of the graders and he demonstrated one of them at the Minnesota State Fair in 1924 Instead of manufacturing it he sold licenses to 22 companies who paid him $12 50 for every grader they sold Suddenly Ronning’s design was everywhere with different names on it Townships appreciated the power unit because of the labor savings In 2003 Zempel became part of Ronning’s history when he reassembled the grader that debuted at the fair He discovered it disassembled in Ronning’s daughter’s shed near Montevideo Adair Ronning Kelley readily agreed to Zempel restoring part of her father’s history A 2003 photo shows her driving it for the first time “Ronning didn’t reinvent the wheel He just rearranged everything and improved on things ” Zempel says He used a Fordson tractor and Russell Junior Grader and mounted it on a channel frame that rested on a yoke on the front axle Zempel couldn’t find all the parts so he made some of them based on photos from the Ronning archives The grader is just one of a multitude of inventions and patents Ronning developed to make work easier Zempel says Ronning initiated one of his most significant pieces of equipment with his brother Andrean before he graduated from high school The horse-drawn silage harvester later developed into several patents for a motorized silage harvester which reduced labor by 50 percent or more and is the origin of silage equipment used today Zempel adds that Ronning had hundreds of patents including World War II inventions such as a wobble-stick control in the M46 General Patton tank that earned Ronning a citation for his valuable contributions to the war effort Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Arnold Zempel 150 60th St S E Montevideo Minn 56265 ph 320 269-8003

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