“We uncovered it at the farm,” Mark Skrzyniarz said. “Dave (Smith) was over gathering up some junk vehicles for me, to get them together to get rid of them. He went past this building that was collapsed and he realized there was something in the building. He said, ‘You mind if I take the walls off?’ This is what we uncovered.”

He was unsure how long it had been stored out there. The threshing machine is believed to date from the late 1800s to the early 1900s.

What makes this threshing machine unique is it’s covered with the names of people from the area who worked together to harvest the fields. The dates by the names ranged from 1902 to 1970.

Ted Kurtz recognized many of the names. His grandparents homesteaded the area and when his father and other area kids finished school, they started the Buck Lake Farm and Labor Club. His father, Louis Kurtz Sr., was treasurer of the club.

Rose Kudwa Kozel points to the area on the Hart-Carter threshing machine where she wrote her name in 1941. Past generations wrote their names on the side of the threshing machine after working for the day. (Marguerite Lanthier/Daily News photo)

“They held dances and all that. They got money and they bought farm equipment. I remember them buying a potato planter, a potato digger, a machine that would fan your grain. They have a nice gem here and with people talking about it and putting it in the paper and stuff like that, you’ll find out more information,” he said.

He remembers his father getting a letter from the U.S. government questioning the name of the club to see if it had any socialist or communist connotations.

The club members used to go farm to farm and work together for the harvest. The men would work in the fields and the women would cook meals for them, Paul Kozel said.

Ninety-eight-year-old Rose Kudwa Kozel recalled signing the machine when she was 14 years old, after everyone had left for the day.

“I was just a little scoot and I had to cook. Age was nothing — if you had two hands, you worked,” she said. Her son said she lived in Mastodon Township for about 69 years. She thinks she helped at those events for about 25 years.

A close-up of Rose Kudwa Kozel's signature on the Hart-Carter threshing machine, which she wrote in 1941 when only 14 years old. Past generations wrote their names on the side of the threshing machine after working for the day. (Marguerite Lanthier/Daily News photo)

“All the farmers helped — you went to that farmer, you went to that farmer and they came to you. You returned the help. If he came to you, you go to that one and return the help,” she said.

Cleaning and restoration work will be conducted by the Classic Farm Machinery Club of Iron County.

Vice president Neil Adank said they will be working on the iron parts to remove rust and grease, but the names will be left alone.

The thresher is being stored at Smith’s farm until a secure structure can be built to protect and showcase the historical machine. It will then be moved to the Mastodon Town Hall property.

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Marguerite Lanthier can be reached at 906-774-3500, ext. 85242, or mlanthier@ironmountaindailynews.com.