An heirloom corn sheller that has been a part of the Pioneer Harvest Fiesta for many years, will not likely be there in the future.
The Pioneer Harvest Fiesta event showcases rural America in an earlier era. One can experience educational and historic exhibits, refreshments, and live musical entertainment all weekend this weekend.
The Kemmerer’s corn sheller been a part of the PHF since 2009 after it was taken back from the Illinois Agriculture Museum.
“It’s a 1-of-its-kind in the world.” said Jim Kemmerer Jr., grandson of one of the creators of the machine.
Jim and his dad, Jim Sr. thought that, eventually, neither of them would be demonstrating, and began a search of what to do next with it.
“Shortly after starting the search for a new home for the sheller, we found a couple of possible homes. One is the Iowa 80 of Walcott,Iowa, which is the world’s largest truck stop and has a fantastic truck museum! Or the Will County Thresherman’s Association (Will County, IL). The Will County group is similar to PHF. It’s also the county that the sheller was ‘born’ and used from, 1950 to 1995, and some of the members remember my grandfather and seeing the sheller in operation.”
“Due to the eagerness of the new home possibilities, the chance is very good that 2025 is the last year the sheller will participate in PHF,”Jim Jr. said.
For those who don’t know, a sheller was a farm machine that separates corn, grown on one’s farm, from the cob, husk, and dust.
“It does everything a combine does except pick the corn. Combines came after pickers and shellers. The name combine is short for combination, which a combine is a combination of a picker and sheller.”
Kemmerer is encouraging people to stop by to see the sheller at the event this weekend at the Bourbon County Fairgrounds.
About the PHF
The Pioneer Harvest Fiesta (PHF) is an annual Bourbon County event that takes place this year from October 3-5 at the Bourbon County Fairgrounds on South Horton Street in Fort Scott.
The event showcases rural American culture in an earlier time period.
To learn more: https://pioneerharvestfiesta.com/
The event kicks off with a parade of antique and classic farm implements and more, through Fort Scott’s historic downtown on Thursday, October 2, at 6 p.m., according to the PHF website.
All three days showcase steam engines, blacksmiths, food and Flea Market vendors, drag saw demonstrations, Tractors and Gas Engines on display, Baker Fan demonstrations, arts and crafts, straw baling, wheat threshing, corn husking and shelling, sorghum making, rock crushing, saw mill operation, Car Show, Tractor Pull (Antique & Classic), Garden Tractor Pull, and many more.
This year’s full weekend admission is only $5 per person and includes a collector button and the Friday Bean Feed at 5 PM. Children under age 12 are free.
Free admission does not include a collector button. Prior year’s collector buttons are available for purchase for $1.
History of the Corn Sheller Heirloom
The circa 1950 was built by Harold Kemmerer, Jim Sr.’s dad, and Lloyd Erickson from “junk and used parts.”
Harold Kemmerer was the owner and operator from Plainfield, Illinois.
Erickson was creator and patent holder of the first articulated four-wheel drive tractor.
“The sheller is a 1932 Le Moon truck lengthened four feet, with a 1944 Buda diesel from a Greyhound Bus from Chicago,” Jim Jr. said.
Farm Collector Magazine featured the sheller in an 2020 article
3-31-20 Farm Collector Homemade Corn Sheller Built to Work
View Jim Kemmerer’s YouTube channel to see videos from a corn shelling job in August 1985. This was a trial job after reclaiming it from the Illinois Agriculture Museum in 2008.
Other facts about the machine:
“Only four new items ever used on it,” he said. “New items and when installed were:
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- 1950, a Joliet Big 6 Corn Sheller and a transfer case.
- 1952, a Reeves Variable Speed Industrial Transmission which uses a wooden belt.
- 1965, a Frantz Oil Filter System. That was also the last time the oil was changed.
“It was used from 1950 to 1995, it has shelled between 14 and 16 million bushels. That can fill the world’s second-largest elevator which is located in Enid, OK,” Jim Jr. said.
Other facts about the sheller:
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- Motor has never been rebuilt, and it can be started with a flame.
- Still street-legal, with a maximum speed of 32 MPH.
- It can shell up to 1,800 bushels per hour.
- It weighs 13,480 lbs. 5 feet tall, 30 feet long when folded up, up to over 100’ long when used in a linear set-up.
- The only electric items are the lights and starter. No power steering or power brakes.
- It can be demonstrated with or without running corn through it. We have a binder of information to help with demonstrations. We also can hang signage from the sheller which explains history and components.”
- Kemmerer corn sheller videos can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NroTC5J44s&list=PLL3NXNyTZRWOX3jhAOqI-fA0PPJAgrpJ9&pp=gAQBiAQB.