Century

A CORN SHELLER, thought to be about 100 years old, was restored by Dan Eisenmann of rural Madison. It wasn't in his plans to exhibit it at the Madison County Fair, but it was — and it drew attention.

MADISON — Sometimes it takes prodding and a fast-approaching deadline to finally finish a project.

That was the case for Dan Eisenmann of rural Madison, who made fast work of restoring a corn sheller believed to be about a century old.

The prodding came from his mother-in-law, Mickey Weidner of Norfolk. The deadline: the Weidner family reunion in Humphrey on July 4. The time frame: three weeks.

Fortunately, Eisenmann is a repair expert and handy with tools.

He owns and operates Scrub's Repair. Eisenmann, who is married to the former Lana Weidner, said he repairs vehicles, farm equipment "and about everything."

Mickey Weidner remembers that her father-in-law, Ferdinand Weidner of Humphrey, had given the corn sheller to her husband, Art, in likely about 1963. Art, who farmed northwest of Madison, later gave the sheller to Dan's brother, Denis, of rural Madison.

"Denis used to raise popcorn, and he shelled it by hand," Weidner said.

In 2012, Denis died in a traffic accident. Weidner said that when family members were moving Denis’ wife, Amy, to Madison, the crank of the sheller was found on the garage floor. Dan searched for the rest of the sheller, finding the disassembled pieces in an overhead box.

"Denis must have had plans on putting it back together because he had the two new sides made and bushings put in it," Eisenmann said.

The sheller was then stored in son Kyle's garage.

"It probably would still be there, but I got a phone call from Mickey about the family reunion and the sheller," he said. "After that prodding phone call, I decided to get it back together."

Eisenmann said he wanted the restoration to be authentic, including square-head nuts and bolts. Son Dylan, an incoming senior at Madison High School, surfed the Internet and tracked down pictures of the sheller and its name, IHC Steel Pony Corn Sheller.

A needed belt was acquired from a New York source; a neighbor had an original leg from a similar sheller. The finishing touch was painting the sheller "International Red," with the interior gearing painted gray to stand out, Eisenmann said.

The sheller, with the manufacturing years 1911-1918 imprinted on it, was trucked to the family reunion. Eisenmann said he brought along two bags of ear corn. "The kids had more fun shelling the corn," he said.

Of the restoration, Weidner said, "I was amazed. I couldn't believe it. It looks a lot better than when we had it."

Several days after the reunion, with the sheller still in his pickup box, it was decided to "bring it down (to the Madison County Fair) and show it off," Eisenmann said.

The corn sheller attracted much attention from fairgoers of all ages as they entered the Octagon Building where more than 1,600 entries were displayed. Eisenmann earned a special recognition award.

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