|
|
Article: Farmer once used local firm for portable elevators
- Article from:
- The Pantagraph Bloomington, IL
- Article date:
- September 28, 2008
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2008 The Pantagraph Bloomington, IL. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
|
BLOOMINGTON - For much of the 20th century, strange looking
contraptions called portable elevators (like the one pictured here)
were a common sight on farms throughout the Midwest corn belt. These
elevators moved not people but rather ear and shelled corn, as well
as wheat, oats and other grains, from wagon to storage crib or bin.
Bloomington-based Portable Elevator Manufacturing Co., located on
the corner of Grove and McClun streets on the city's near-east side,
was one of the largest and most successful makers of this type of
farm equipment.
Portable elevators helped farmers escape the back-breaking
limitations of scooping grain with a shovel. By cheating gravity,
"corn dumps" made ...