Read it Again: Week of May 30, 2002

80 years ago this week. The Bucher & Gibbs Plow Company is seeking royalties of $100,000 from the International Harvester Company, claiming IH infringed a patent on a double disc harrow held by the Bucher & Gibbs company of Canton.

The Trail cheese factory, owned by John Tenacher, burned May 20, a total loss. This is the fourth cheese house in eastern Holmes County to be burned within the year, all fires happening on a Saturday night.

50 ye ars ago this week. About 10 planes have been lined up for a tour of farms by air in Mahoning County in early June. Pictures taken from a state plane outlining the trip indicate that just about every type of soil and water problem exists in the county. The trip will take about 30 minutes and cover 50 miles. Planes will leave the Austintown airport and fly south over the county experiment farm and the Beardsley farm, along Mill Creek, over the Weaver and Hurst farms in Green Township, and over the Francis Less orchard. Heading west, the tourists will see the strip mine area north of Salem, the Bob Dixon farm in western Goshen Township, and some of Meander Lake and forest plantings around it. Three passengers can go on each trip. Tickets cost $3.

Poultrymen in Pennsylvania are hoping for clear, warm weather which may bring relief from a relatively new and destructive virus disease commonly known as “air-sac disease.” The state Bureau of Animal Industry estimates that losses from the ailment have been running about 10 percent in flocks where the disease has struck, and mortality in some broiler operations is heavier. The disease is known to exist in practically all sections of the state, according to Secretary of Agriculture Miles Forst. The disease is technically known as chronic respiratory disease and is a virus infection with practically the same symptoms as Newcastle disease and infectious bronchitis of poultry. Increased use of reliable antibiotics in feed should help clear up the disease.

25 years ago this week. A new pulling track for tractors has been completed at the Canfield Fairground and will be test in June when two Ohio Tractor Pullers Association events are scheduled. The track is inside the horse track, across the hubrail from the grandstand a few feet, and is 300 feet long and 40 feet wide. It is made of soil and is principally clay, and is well packed. Tractor pulling has always been on the horse race track, and tractor owners have complained that the slag in the bed of the track is very hard on tires. They say it didn’t take much pulling to require that the rubber lugs be sharpened again. It is expected that the new track will attract more participants and spectators.