Rural Heritage Magazine

10/16/2025

… A "Boss" horse-drawn potato digger was an early potato harvesting machine that used a horse-powered, rotating "spinner" to lift potatoes from the ground and throw them to the side for hand-picking. It was a popular choice for smaller farms due to its low cost and simple, robust design, even though it was hard work for the operator and required manual cleanup. We filmed this one at the North American Suffolk Horse Association Gathering in Hartford, Wis., recently. It's owned by Joe Cervenka

We found a great article about the Boss digger at the link below:
https://www.crookedlakereview.com/articles/1_33/18sept1989/18rezelman.html #:~:text=This%20hung%20down%20from%20the,County%20for%20a%20long%20time

10/15/2025

10/12/2025

Here's a little raw footage from the the 2025 North American Suffolk Association held this weekend in Hartford, Wis, including some demonstrations of round pen training, equine wellness techniques, two kinds of potato diggers, and some plowing including a four-up with rope and pulley system on a two-bottom John Deere gang plow.

10/11/2025

𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝗢𝗰𝘁. 𝟭𝟰, 𝗮𝘁 𝟲 𝗮.𝗺. 𝗼𝗻 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗧𝘂𝗯𝗲: 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗕𝗮𝗿𝗻𝘀 𝗘𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗽𝗽𝗶: Artist and author Bob Kroeger talks to us about his new book, Stone Barns of America East of the Mississippi. And shows us a stone barn a friend is restoring.

https://youtu.be/mLfcyDFey48

10/10/2025

Emery and Katy Edwards are hosting their third annual plow day this weekend in Linden, Tenn. Here's a little footage from Thursday's activities. Friday and Saturday will have even more. Learn more about it at their page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61567144890185

10/09/2025

... 𝗔 𝗣𝗶𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 "𝗥𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗿," developed by athlete and eventual fitness guru Joseph Pilates. Originally from Germany, but living in England, Pilates was sent to an internment camp on the Isle of Man during World War I. He used his time in confinement to start developing a new approach to exercise and body-conditioning – the start of what is known today as Pilates.
Also, during that time, he worked as a nurse, which gave him a chance to help patients tone their muscles while still con fined to a bed. Through this work he created the “bednasium.” This was the origin of the first Pilates machines now known as the Pilates reformer, which was shaped like a sliding bed and used springs as resistance.
Here’s a YouTube short of Joseph Pilates in action with a mat routine he developed: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/pL7Pzz9D5tM

10/08/2025

You'll need to exercise your detective powers on this one!

10/02/2025

So many projects! 🛠️ - https://mailchi.mp/ruralheritage.com/rural-heritage-news-for-you-13869081 Check out what's happening in the office and on the road for Rural Heritage

10/02/2025

… 𝗔 𝗩𝗲𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝗦𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿. Vetch is a legume that was sometime grown with other grains. It was used for feed, and its roots added nitrogen to the soil. To separate its BB-sized seed from the oats or wheat, the combined seeds were dumped into the top of the separator. As they raced down the spirals, the lighter vetch seeds were pushed to the outside via centrifugal force. The seeds were collected in separate buckets at the bottom. We saw one at the Thumb Octagon Barn in Tuscola County, Mich.

09/29/2025

On Day 2 of the American Brabant Association's Rendezvous in Medford, Wisconsin., teamsters used their American Brabants to skid logs, chop corn for silage, bale hay with a ground drive forecart, and more.

09/27/2025

𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝗦𝗲𝗽𝘁. 𝟮𝟴, 𝗮𝘁 𝟲 𝗮.𝗺. 𝗼𝗻 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗧𝘂𝗯𝗲: 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗙𝗿𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗪𝗮𝗴𝗼𝗻 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗛𝗮𝘆𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴. At the 2025 National Stagecoach and Freight Wagon Conference, attendees watched and participated in a loose hay making demonstration that included mowing, side-delivery raking, buck raking, dump raking, hay loading and overshot stacking.
https://youtu.be/gaUXJrAdAUk