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ARGENTA — Victorian ladies did not sew because their families needed clothes, as poorer women did then. They only did fancy work that wouldn't mar their delicate hands.
They could buy a bird-shaped device that would hold their material so they could embroider on it — and if you wanted to see one, plus any number of other tools that are often mysterious-looking, you could stop by Stan Seevers' booth at the Farming in the '50s event held in Argenta on Saturday.
This bird-shaped sewing tool holds material to save wear and tear on the seamstress' hands. The cloth is placed in the bird's beak.
“This is a cow tail holder,” Seevers told Rick Lowe and Meg Young, who stopped by the booth with Lowe's daughter, Holly Jenkins, and her daughters, Emma and 3-week-old Olivia. “It was patented in 1912 and sold for 50 cents.”
Stan Seevers, right, explains the use of an antique hand tool at the Farming in the '50s event in Argenta on Saturday. Seevers finds the tools at auctions all over and learns their history to tell his customers. Watching is his friend Bruce White.
Seevers is a wealth of information on the tools of the past, though he admitted, laughing, that sometimes he has to research to find out what something is, too. The cow tail holder is just what it sounds like: It keeps the cow's tail secure so she can't smack you with it when you're milking her.
Another device that Lowe asked about was a candle holder for miners. The miner would put a lit candle in the holder clip it to his helmet so he could see where he was going when he took his lunch break. It also had a long, pointed piece that he could jam into the mine's wall to give him light while he ate.
“I didn't lose anything down there,” quipped Bruce White, who was helping Seevers at his booth. “I'm not going down there.”
The event was organized by Martin Bayless of Annella Farms, with help from some of his farmer friends. Thanks to the wet, cold spring weather, a lot of farmers are in the fields trying to catch up with plowing and planting right now, but Bayless was still pleased with the number of antique tractors and vendors who showed up on Saturday.
“There's just not a lot of tractor shows in this area,” Bayless said. “My brother and my dad and I, we own antique tractors, and we've lived in Argenta for the past 14 years and just wanted to have a tractor show here, and thought it would be something that would be a pretty good draw.”
He was amazed, he said, when they started calling people to help, how many people nearby had antique tractors. About 40 tractors were on display, plus “hit-and-miss” motors, which powered appliances such as washing machines while using very little fuel; Seevers' antique hand tools; food and drink from local businesses; handmade items and baked goods; and Garriott's Antiques, housed in the Garriott family barn adjacent to the tractor show.
And while the hit-and-miss motors were fuel-efficient, they were also pretty smoky, which Bayless joked would “kill all the mosquitoes in Argenta.”
Hit-and-miss machines, so named because they don't run constantly but instead "hit and miss," could run appliances like washing machines with very little fuel burned. Several of them chugged noisily during the Farming in the '50s event in Argenta on Saturday.
Morris Ennis and his brother Dwight restored a 1949 Model C Allis-Chalmers tractor which they had on display. The restoration took about six months, Dwight Ennis said, and Morris Ennis said he made a couple of modifications, such as adding a horn, just for fun.
Morris and Dwight Ennis restored this tractor, which is very much like one used on their own family farm.
“People leave these parked outside,” Morris Ennis said. “They rust away.”
The Ennis tractor was outside, but had a canopy over it to protect it from the weather. The Ennis brothers' dad knew mechanics, and taught his sons that skill as well, so they had the know-how to restore the tractor and had a good time doing it, too, Morris Ennis said.
Garriott Antiques, in the family barn adjacent to the tractor show downtown, has been in the family for years, and is run by Dawn McKinney, girlfriend of Dave Garriott. She still has the original stained-glass sign from the store opened by Dave's father, Richard, hanging in the shop.
Garriott Antiques is in its second generation. This stained-glass sign hung in the original store in downtown Argenta and now hangs in the converted barn where the store relocated, on the family farm.
One of the prized items in the store is a 1970s-era record player. And yes, it works just fine.
"I tell the kids that it will only play records from the '70s," McKinney said.
Patrons and workers inside Schiff Shoe Store, circa 1960.
Members of the Country Club of Decatur on May 2, 1952
A woman holding a kite at the Hi-Flier workshop in Decatur, March 4, 1953.
Sergeant Vito Bertoldo receiving the Congressional Medal of Honor from President Truman for his service in Hatten, France during World War II, January, 1945.
The police radio room in 1955.
A view of Millikin University, circa 1955.
Men standing outside of the Union Pacific Railroad gas turbine engine in 1954.
The transfer house being hauled to its new location, 1962.
Children playing next to a spraying fire hydrant in Decatur, 1952.
Two people passing Abraham Lincoln's statue on the Millikin University campus, circa 1950.
We're taking a look back at Decatur and Macon County during the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s.
Patrons and workers inside Schiff Shoe Store, circa 1960.
Members of the Country Club of Decatur on May 2, 1952
A woman holding a kite at the Hi-Flier workshop in Decatur, March 4, 1953.
Sergeant Vito Bertoldo receiving the Congressional Medal of Honor from President Truman for his service in Hatten, France during World War II, January, 1945.
The police radio room in 1955.
A view of Millikin University, circa 1955.
Men standing outside of the Union Pacific Railroad gas turbine engine in 1954.
The transfer house being hauled to its new location, 1962.
Children playing next to a spraying fire hydrant in Decatur, 1952.
Two people passing Abraham Lincoln's statue on the Millikin University campus, circa 1950.
Contact Valerie Wells at (217) 421-7982. Follow her on Twitter: @modgirlreporter
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“Farming in the 50s” will be Saturday, May 14, in downtown Argenta.
It is nice having a history with a place.
Early harvest techniques will be on display Friday and Saturday, Oct. 8 and 9, during the Illinois Amish Heritage Center's Harvest to Home event.
Stan Seevers, right, explains the use of an antique hand tool at the Farming in the '50s event in Argenta on Saturday. Seevers finds the tools at auctions all over and learns their history to tell his customers. Watching is his friend Bruce White.
This bird-shaped sewing tool holds material to save wear and tear on the seamstress' hands. The cloth is placed in the bird's beak.
Morris and Dwight Ennis restored this tractor, which is very much like one used on their own family farm.
Garriott Antiques is in its second generation. This stained-glass sign hung in the original store in downtown Argenta and now hangs in the converted barn where the store relocated, on the family farm.
Hit-and-miss machines, so named because they don't run constantly but instead "hit and miss," could run appliances like washing machines with very little fuel burned. Several of them chugged noisily during the Farming in the '50s event in Argenta on Saturday.
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