Juiceman, the Rankins that made the one wheeler attachment for the baler was Everett Rankins of Manteca CA he ran a custom Baling and roadsiding Service in the south Delta. For years he had a shop next door to Arnaudo on Tracy Blvd on Union island, then had a shop out on Byron highway in what is now Mountain House.

In addition to the one wheeler he also used the same drive system and made his own self propelled rake, in the 1950’s he had a competing design to the automatic bale wagon that Gordon Grey was putting out with Harobed manufacturing, Rankins design was far more complex as the bales would interlock on alternating layers. The original harobed had all of the bales going all the same direction. Then made a squeeze to move these blocks of hay bales.

In addition to the one wheeler that he would primarily on the 500 - 515 NH he also had a quick release kit for the knotters and redesigned the feed on those balers as well. Make good uniform density tight bales was the reason for the above so the roadsider the squeeze man and the trucker had a full load that didn’t fall over. The old adage was if you had to touch a bale you the baler man did something wrong.

www.mantecahalloffame.com/index.php/cour.../326-everett-rankins

www.ttownmedia.com/tracy_press/our_town/...f8-5f91be48557b.html

That is some really neat history CR. Many say the art of hauling hay was lost when the squeeze was introduced too! Any idiot (almost) could haul hay then.
It never ceases to amaze me the ingenuity of many, making life less difficult in our lives.
Thanks for sharing, especially because it clarifies things. JM

Ran across this thread at random. My dad has a C B Hay bean harvester that is modified to be self propelled. One International engine is for driving. It goes through two transmissions and then chain drive down to the front axle differential. Hydraulic steering motor in the cab steers the back axle, much like modern combines. It is genuinely a real beast. The other IH engine does the threshing. I believe the machine was built or modified in Idaho and is one of two that were built. I am 24 and my dad is 51. I remember as a child riding in that cab by the hour. Dark red kidneys, wow they were beautiful. We still have the machine in a barn, but haven't farmed beans for 15 years. Maybe we should again.

On the subject of thrashing dry beans: Has anyone gone down to southern California to watch the guys near Anaheim or Knotts Berry Farm? I have been told they sold many acres of land for $$$ back in the day; still farm dry beans for the fun of it. Being an urban setting, it would have to get the attention of many folks.
Speaking of which, bean season should have begun here. I need my sack of baby Lima beans to toss in the crock pot with my bacon and ham hocks! JM

JM, you nailed the facts.  The Segerstrom family also owns an awesome collection of old Cats. Same area where I grew up in the '50s.  Citrus, avocados, beans (lima, garbanzo, black eye), other row crops, dry-farmed hillsides for barley.  All long gone for urban sprawl.

Article about the Segerstrom's last lima bean field in Southern CA:

www.wisfarmer.com/story/opinion/columnis...ro-area/70176408007/

Short youtube video of Segerstrom's threshing.  Ted Segerstrom driving a caterpillar tractor and pulling a G.E. Price thresher maned by longtime foreman Oscar Mendez in August 2024. The Segerstrom family use to be the largest independent Lima bean farmers in the world. They went onto create the renowned international shopping destination in the South Coast Plaza. The family retained a 40 acre ranch next to the 405 freeway and the IKEA store.



The Google Earth photos below show the Segerstrom's 40 acres today, a unique island amidst a huge urban sprawl. The two B&W photos of bean threshing are from an Orange County historical photo site, and were probably shot in the Irvine Ranch area during the '40's or early '50's.

Bean Grain Warehouse in Irvine info.

In 1949, a new, state-of-the-art bulk processing warehouse was built on the site of the old 1890 warehouse. Bulk operations provided a more efficient way to store, clean and ship dry crops. The new warehouse could hold 16 million pounds of beans and barley in 32 concrete silos. After the Old Town Irvine restoration in 1986, the warehouse was converted into the La Quinta Hotel. 

Photos from 1922 and 1955:

Had the sound turned up, unmistakable sound of the tractor - NOTHING sounds like a Sixty!
Thank You!
 

Thank you LOTS Cat Spotter! A lot of history there. I have been told that some lucky folks can actually get a tour of their operation on rare occasions. JM

What a treasure makes me very homesick, as a small kid I got to watch the guys jigging and sewing sacks and at that time they still had the big straw dumps on the back of the machine later on they put on smaller weighted straw dumps. I may be wrong but I think GE PRICE might have been located in Irvine or close by. This is what I like to see is somebody actually using and farming with older equipment even if it’s only 40 acres it’s still doing the work 17afarmer