World Class Collection Of Antique Dairy Equipment

World Class Collection Of Antique Dairy Equipment DAIRY EQUIPMENT & IDEAS Arlan Nickerson and his brother Warren and father Dennis have one of the largest collections of dairy farm equipment around They exhibit at several antique tractor shows including the Albany Pioneer Days threshing show where most of these photos were taken “We have a good collection of milking machines everything from foot pedal-powered to hand-powered gas-powered and electric-powered models ” says Arlan “They represent many different brands and range from 1919 up through the 1950’s “In the old days farmers rarely milked more than 2 cows at a time lifting or pulling the milking machine down the center of the barn and attaching teat cups to a cow on each side The foot pedal-powered models in our collection represent the oldest milkers which were followedin later years by hand-powered gas and electric models ” Here’s a sampling of what’s in their collection 1919 Hinman Milker This milker was designed to run back and forth on a track that ran down one side of the barn It was operated by a 3 hp Fairbanks Z gas engine that belt-drove a gearbox that turned a rotating metal arm The arm pushed and pulled a pair of vacuum cylinders Each cylinder would milk 2 cows so if you had 12 cows you would need 6 cylinders “Once the milker reached the end of the barn it would turn around and return on a second track on the other side of the barn ” says Arlan Hand-Powered Milker This Macartney 1920’s milker rode on a pair of small steel wheels and was designed to milk 2 cows at a time by hand The operator pulled a long lever back and forth to operate a pair of vacuum cylinders and the milk from each cylinder was delivered through a hose and into a milk can When the can was full the operator replaced it with another one “In those days farmers or a delivery truck brought milk cans into town and placed them inside coolers filled with ice ” says Arlan Mehring Milker Patented in 1892 the Mehring milker was used from the late 1800’s to 1920 It milked 2 cows at a time and in 1914 was advertised for sale at $75 The operator sat down on a built-in chair and pedaled bicycle-style to create vacuum in the pump The milk was delivered into a pail that hung from a spigot “The Mehring milker is very rare and is probably the most sought after model by milking machine collectors ” says Arlan “The pump on it worked much like the pumps commonly used to draw water out of wells Company advertising said it could ‘milk 20 cows per hour and do it right ’” National Milker This electric-operated 2-wheeled milker milked 2 cows at a time and delivered the milk into a big glass jar The motor belt-drove a gearbox that pushed and pulled a vacuum cylinder that pumped milk into the jar When the jar was full the operator picked it up and poured the milk into a can Super Jack This uncommon milker dates back to the late 1930’s or early 1940’s and was designed to milk 2 cows at a time An electric motor belt-drove a cam that operated a pair of vacuum cylinders “There isn’t a lot of information on this model ” says Arlan Co-Op Milker This 2-wheeled 2-cow milker was made in the 1940’s and was operated by an electric motor that direct-drove a gearbox powering a vacuum cylinder A pair of horizontal metal rods were used to hold the vacuum lines to the teat cups Milk Can Carrier This 2-wheeled carrier was designed to pick up a milk can so the operator didn’t have to It came with a U-shaped metal rod near the top and a long handle on back The operator placed the rod around the neck of the can and then pulled back on the handle to lift the can off the floor As the can came up it tilted in toward the carrier causing it to always stay level Butter Box Collection The Nickersons’ popular butter box collection includes 2 big cases of butter brands from all over Minnesota - more than 50 different butter brands in all “If you come to a show and don’t see your town’s butter box send us one with the name on it and we’ll add it to our collection ” says Arlan

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