Cushman Stake Kar

 

This 1946 Stake Kar was the last vehicle purchased for the museum by founder, Virgil Schwanke, before his passing. Restoration was completed and it was placed on display in the museum for the 2024 season. It was also on display at the 2024 Atwater Threshing Show, and was part of the vehicle parade at the show.

The Cushman scooter company was started in 1903 by Everett and Clinton Cushman. Cushman produced engines for farm equipment, pumps, lawn mowers, and boats. The four-stroke Husky engine production started in 1922. One interesting farm use of the Husky engine was to power the mechanism on grain binders rather than depending on power from the binder wheels powering the mechanism. This greatly reduced the strain on the horses pulling the binder, allowing more acres to be done in a work day.

Many of the Cushman scooters were a step-through design similar to the Stake Kar or other three-wheel models. Cushman manufactured scooters begging with the Astro-Glide in 1936, and continuing through 1955. Later years Cushman manufactured industrial vehicles like golf carts, and a number of other industrial vehicles.

Cushman became a division of Outboard Marine Corporation in 1962, with the Cushman Division being purchased by Ransomes in 1989, and Textron being purchasing Ransomes in 1998. Textron continues to produce personnel transport and other utility vehicles under the Cushman name.

 

Mr. and Mrs. John Heider from central Illinois stopped by recently and asked if we happened to have a Heider tractor in our museum. They previously had thee Heider tractors, along with a number of other brands in their personal collection. John was very knowledgeable about Heider, and was impressed that the one in our collection had the fringe around the canopy and appears to have the original canopy roof. They happened to have the same last name as the founders of Heider Manufacturing, but were not related.

The Heider Manufacturing Company was formed by Henry J. Heider and his brother, John, after Henry's business of manufacturing four-horse eveners outgrew his ability to manufacture eveners and run his farm. They moved from Albert Lea, Minnesota to Caroll, Iowa as the business expanded, and incorporated the company to finance the new concrete block factory in Caroll in 1904. They continued to manufacture four and six-horse eveners, yokes, double and single trees.

Henry became interested in tractors around 1907, and developed a prototype similar to the Moline Universal Tractor. In 1910 they decided to go with a four-wheel design for tractor with a friction drive. Twenty-five Heider model A's were made between March, 1911 and 1912. The Heider B was introduced in 1912, switching to the model C in 1915.

The model B was rated at 10 hp on the drawbar, and 20 on the belt.

The early model C 12-20 was produced from 1916 to 1924, and was rated at 9 hp drawbar and 16 belt. It was powered by a 429 ci (7.0L) Waukesha 4-cylinder engine, with a 4.5 inch bore and 6.75 inch stroke.

The Heider C 15-27 was manufactured from 1924-1927, and had 15 drawbar and 27 belt horsepower. It was powered by a Waukesha 4-cylinder engine with a 4.75 inch bore and 6.75 inch stroke.

The Heider tractors used a friction drive system with a wood fiber drive surface on the engine flywheel which drove one of two cast discs set at a right angle to the flywheel. Engaging the flywheel with one side drove the tractor forward, and moving the cast discs to the other direction engaged the opposite side disc and drove the tractor in reverse. The system gave seven speeds of both forward or reverse by sliding the entire engine forward or backward with a notched lever to engage different portions of the cast drive discs.

Henry Heider was also given patents for a mechanical plow lift in 1917. The lift consisted of a ratchet gear assembly driven from the rear tractor wheels. Pressing a pedal engaged a clutch on the rear axle drive to cause a lift arm to lift the tractor mounted plow out of the ground. Pressing the pedal a second time dropped the plow back into plowing position.

The Heiders sold the tractor portion of the manufacturing business to The Rock Island Plow Company in 1916 because the popularity of the Heider C required a manufacturing facility with more capacity. Tractor manufacturing was moved to Rock Island Illinois. Henry Heider's engineering services were retained by Rock Island until 1922.

Heider manufacturing continued to make wooden products of its pre-tractor business and later made wagons and auger wagons. Henry also held a patent for a coaster wagon. In 1983 the business was sold to the Welllbuilt Company of Scranton, Iowa.

For more information on the Heider company, visit:  http://heidertractors.com/

The Moline Universal Model D Tractor

 

The Minneapolis-Moline Company was formed by the 1929 merger of the Minneapolis Steel & Machinery Company, the Minneapolis Threshing Machine Company, and the Moline Plow Company.  You will find tractors in our museum built by all three of these companies prior to the merger, including a Moline Universal Model D.

Moline Plow Company of Moline, IL purchased the Universal Tractor Company of Columbus, OH in 1915.  Prior to that, the MPC had been building plows which were designed for and sold with the Universal 10-12 motor cultivator.  MPC produced  models B & C, which used a two-cylinder opposed engine.  The model D featured a 4-cylinder engine with pressure lubrication and electric start and had one headlight and one implement light.  A number of implements from sickle mowers to plows and discs could be mounted directly on the tractor, or other implements could be towed behind the tractor using the carrying cart and hitch. Universal tractors had the engine in the front powering the front wheels.  

The D did not have rear wheels of its own, but relied on the implement or carrying cart to provide the rear wheels.  Steering was done by an articulating pivot point behind the engine & front wheel section.  The tractor had a long wheel base, resulting in a large turning radius.  The transmission had one forward and one reverse gear. 

This video has more information on the Moline Universal Tractors

Our 22nd Season

 

We start our 2021 season with the addition of a Case DO orchard tractor. Orchard tractors are more commonly found in the orchards and vineyards of California than in Minnesota. 

The Case D series was manufactured from 1939-1954.  It is rated at 31 HP drawbar, and 35 HP PTO.  A total of 14,396 Model D were built in one of four versions:

 Standard Tread - D

Row Crop - DC

Industrial - DI

Orchard - DO

The museum entrance is through  the tractor parts sales area at the west end of the museum building, inside the security fence. 

Museum hours are:
Monday-Friday: 9 am to 4 pm
Saturday: 9 am to noon. 

If you have questions about the museum, or making a reservation for your group, please give us a call at 320-235-4341 or 800-537-5582.

1922 Minneapolis 35-70

The Minneapolis 35-70 was built by the Minneapolis Threshing Machine Company in Hopkins, Minnesota from 1920-1929.  It is powered by a 1486 cubic inch 4-cylinder engine fueled with kerosene.  It developed a maximum belt horsepower of 74.0 and drawbar horsepower of 52.55 in the Nebraska tests done from May 21 to June 4, 1920.  The engine has a 7.25” bore and 9” stroke and was rated at 550 rpm.  The transmission has two forward gears at 2.0 and 2.5 mph, and one reverse at 1.7 mph.  The tractor is 17’-2” long, 9’ wide, 10’-2” high, and weighs 22,500 pounds.  It is rated to pull a 6-10 bottom plow, depending on soil conditions.

The 35-70 was built in an era when the larger tractors were built using internal combustion engines on a frame similar to those used on steam traction engines.  These tractors were used to pull implements or to provide stationary power for threshing machines and feed mills.  The large tractors such as this were expensive to buy and cumbersome to drive and not well suited for smaller farms.  Many manufacturers began making smaller, less expensive tractors better suited for smaller farms, and the sales of the larger ones dwindled.  Because of the amount of steel in them, many of these tractors as well as many steam traction engines were scrapped during World War II so the steel could be recycled to help the war effort.

In 1929 the Minneapolis Threshing Machine Company, Minneapolis Steel & Machinery Company, and Moline Plow Works merged to become the Minneapolis-Moline.  The new company had its headquarters in Hopkins, with plants in Hopkins, Minneapolis at Hiawatha Avenue & Lake Street, and in Moline, Illinois. 

Minneapolis-Moline acquired the Avery farm machine company in 1951, and was then acquired by The White Motor Company in 1963.

Here are links to an article and video on the 35-70:
https://www.bemidjipioneer.com/news/4106588-renovation-13-ton-100-year-old-tractor-team-effort

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6M8I79NLXI


The operator's platform on this tractor is large enough to accommodate two people, but  has no seat.  Below are some photos taken from the operator's platform.  Notice the exposed push rods and rocker arms on the engine, as well as the height of the platform compared to other tractors in the museum.

Our 20th Season

It has been 20 years since Virgil Schwanke opened the museum to the public to share his collection of tractors, trucks, and cars.

We are busy preparing the museum for the 2019 season, which begins Saturday, May 18.

The museum entrance has moved to the tractor parts sales area at the west end of the museum building, inside the security fence. 

Museum hours are:
Monday-Friday: 9 am to 4 pm
Saturday: 9 am to noon. 

If you have questions about the museum, or making a reservation for your group, please give us a call at 320-235-4341 or 800-537-5582.


  

Welcome

Welcome Friends.
Today I am just going to introduce the Museum to you with just a little history.
The Schwanke Museum first opened it's doors to the public in 1999 at the time the collection was not as big as it is now, but it still was impressive. Today the museum host over 200 tractors, over a hundred different Car, Trucks, Large and Small Gas and Diesel engines.

 Virgil Schwanke bought his first car at the ripe age of 15. A 1926 Ford model T coupe which is featured as you walk into the main part of the museum. On this blog I will try to feature one car, tractor, or truck per week. I will also try to give a brief history of how the museum acquired the vehicle if I can but I will give a history of the car just so you know what it is, where it was made, and if we restored the vehicle.

If you have any questions I would love to try and help answer any that you may have.
You will have to forgive my photographic skills I don't have a camera so I use my cell phone camera.

Thank you.

In memory of Virgil Schwanke

Schwanke Museum founder Virgil Schwanke passed away May 14, 2017.  We want to honor his memory by sharing his life information.  His desire to preserve the cars and trucks of the past will be shared with future generations.

The Schwanke Museum is now starting its 20th season.  

Starting our Spring cleaning

We are still waiting for warmer weather to arrive so we can start our spring cleaning to get the museum open for the 2019 season.  It will be great to offer expanded hours for people to visit the museum this year!  We have been going through our inventory of antique gasoline engines and offering for sale the duplicates of models we already have on display in the museum.  You can find more information about these engines in the Equipment Listings section at www.schwanketractor.com

Many customers have browsed through our gift shop this winter since it moved to the tractor parts end of the building and is open the same hours as the parts sales area. 

Dempster 210F pump with Duplex 55 pump jack and Lauson TLC-349 engine

We have just completed restoration of a Dempster model 210F well water pump which has a Duplex model 55 pump jack and added a restored 1946 Lauson TLC-349 engine to power it. 

Dempster model 210F Pump

Dempster pumps were manufactured by the Dempster Mill Mfg Company.

The Dempster company was founded by Charles B. Dempster in 1878 in Beatrice Nebraska.  It was incorporated as the Dempster Mill Manufacturing Company in 1886.  Dempster Mill Manufacturing company produced a variety of water well equipment including windmills, pumps, well drilling machines, flywheel type gasoline engines, water tanks, and agricultural equipment.

The company was purchased by Warren Buffet in 1960, sold to a group of investors in 1963, and sold to a private investor in 1985.  It closed in 2011, with the assets purchased by Ryan Mitchell in 2013 and continues to operate now as Dempsters, LLC.  The company currently offers lines of submersible pumps, windmills & wind energy, water systems, recycling trailers, and fertilizer equipment. 

Duplex Model 55 Pump Jack

The Duplex Manufacturing Company was a Wisconsin company which manufactured and sold farm water supply items which included windmills, steel towers, and water tanks.  The origins of the company name came from a windmill designed and built by the Lake City Tool Company of Madison, Wisconsin which could pump water and grind grain at the same time, and the 1882 patent was designated as a Duplex Windmill.
Duplex was known for their wooden blade vaneless windmills.

Duplex was in operation from 1891-1985
The Duplex model 55 pump jack can be fastened to a hand well pump to convert it to powered operation, with the power supplied by either a gasoline engine or electric motor.

Lauson TLC-349 Engine

The Lauson Manufacturing  Company of New Holstein Wisconsin was founded by John Lauson in 1895 after John’s brother Henry who had been working for a gasoline engine manufacturing company in Chicago joined the company.  John had been in business with his uncle repairing and manufacturing steam tractors, and John bought out his uncle’s interest in the company in 1891.  The first Lauson engine was built in 1895, and was a 4 HP, 4-cycle tank cooled engine weighing 1140 pounds.

Lauson built farm tractors starting in 1915 including a number of models from the 15-30 in 1917-18 to the four cylinder 230-35 & 20-40 and the six cylinder 25-45.  The tractor line ended in the 1930’s as sales slumped due to the depression and farmers defaulted on payments.

The TLC-349 is a 2.3 horsepower, 8.95 cubic inch L-head engine with a 2-1/4” bore and 2-1/4” stroke.  The TLC-349 was manufactured from 1937 until 1951, and from serial number records, we believe this engine was manufactured in 1946.  It was recently restored, and is a very smooth running engine.

Museum Update

With new snowfall records being set in much of Minnesota this winter, we are all hoping for an early start to warmer weather this spring, or asking ourselves, "Why didn't I go to a warmer climate for at least part of the winter?"

The Schwanke Museum staff has been working on some updates as well as making plans for some additional improvements before the museum opens in May.

Our gift shop has been moved from the east end of the museum building to the west end in an area of the tractor parts sales area, and is now open year around.  The entrance is through the tractor parts/shop area inside  the fence.  If you are in need of a gift for a tractor or car collector, or looking for something for your collection, stop by and check out our selection of gift items.   

The gift shop hours are now:
Monday-Friday 8 am to 5 pm
Saturday 8 am to noon.

Be sure to follow the blog to keep up to date on new things happening this spring.

New London to New Brighton Antique Car Run

Our museum was visited last week by about 80 people who were in the area for the 32nd Annual New London to New Brighton Antique Car Run which took place on Saturday, August 11.  The grand run of 120 miles is patterned after the London to Brighton car run in England which had its first run in 1896 and is the longest running motoring event in the world. 

Each year the group for the New London to New Brighton run enjoyes some shorter pre tour runs enjoying the area around New London and getting their cars ready for the main event on Saturday.  We were piviliged to be included on their list of pre tours this year.  There were cars from many different states as well as some from Canada taking part in this year's event.

It is nice to see all of their historic cars still in operation.  To qualify for the run, cars must be 1908 or older of any engine type, and up to 1915 one or two cylinder models.  There were about 60 cars in the run this year.  

I enjoyed being able to take photos of a few of  the vehicles and visit with their owners about the cars.  It was interesting to talk to the owners of the Stanley Steamer and learn a bit about that car.  This was the first time I had ever seen one in operation.  They said that the car can only go about 30 miles until it is time to refill the boiler with water, (or sometimes less miles than that if they waste too much steam blowing the whistle.)  The car was designed to burn kerosene to produce the steam, but the owners said they try to use jet airplne fuel which is similar to kerosene, but more hightly refined and burns cleaner.

We look forward to future car run groups coming to the museum.

1906 Cadillac

1905 Columbia

Stanley Steamer

Visitors with specific interests

Last week was an interesting time at the museum.  We had visitors from just over three years of age to one in his mid eighties.  Several people had read articles in farm magazines or online about some of the items in our museum.  The first visitor last Thursday drove over 100 miles from Underwood, Minnesota because he had read about the Ford tractors with the V-8 engines and the one with the V-12

1950 Ford 8N with V-8 engine

The same day Mark Lee from Havre, MT came to see our 1917 Maxwell and get information to help with the 1920 Maxwell he is restoring.  He traveled over 850 miles on his motorcycle to visit us.  Mark was able to take some photos and measurements to help with his restoration.  His car is similar enough to ours that this information will help him understand how some of the areas of his car should look.  He shared some of his knowledge about Maxwells, and I was able to learn some things from him also.  

1917 Maxwell Roadster