International Harvester offers pension plan before most in 1908
International Harvester Corporation was one of the first 20 companies in the United States to establish a nongovernment pension plan for its employees.
Growin’ oats is a storied past for farmers
Sam Moore shares a story Josh Billings, a well-known 19th-century humorist who used contemporary slang and strange phonetic spelling, wrote about oats.
Thermometers: How exactly do they work?
Little glass tubes of mercury or red-dyed alcohol have done duty as temperature indicators since the 17th century. Find out how they work.
That sneaky ride on an Earthworm tractor
The Earthworm Tractor Co., located in Earthworm City, Illinois, made crawler tractors and had a head salesman by a man named Alexander Botts.
Auctions offer wild-card opportunities
Sam Moore shares a story Kate Sanborn (1839-1917), a teacher, lecturer and writer, wrote in 1891 of her experiences attending auctions.
Good old days: Tricking the schoolmaster
Local schools were scarce in frontier communities during the mid- to late-19th century, nor was there much in the way of celebrating the Christmas holiday.
War tanks converted to tractors in France
As this month marks the 100th anniversary of the armistice that ended the World War I, Sam Moore shares a story of "beating swords into plough shares."
The ‘important’ issues of November 1938
Sam Moore recalls the pressing issues of 80 years ago, just after he turned 5 and was probably happily anticipating Christmas.
1848: Dealing with mice, bedbugs and cold
Pioneers did not have many of the conveniences we enjoy today, starting with sleeping arrangements and living conditions inside cramped cabins.
Fires common in the Old West prairies
The fires that have been plaguing the west are not a new phenomenon — fires were a scourge to the settlers in the prairies of the Old West.
