If you visited the Pioneer Village during the Indiana State Fair, or if you have visited it before, how many items in their vast displays do you really recognize? How many items stump you completely, to the point where you have no idea what they would be used for in the past, or any other time?
The answer probably depends upon your age. If you're 60 or older and have lived on a farm all your life, you would likely score better on a quiz of old farm implements that if you're 25 or younger. If you're 80 or older, you might even remember using some of them, or watching your dad or granddad use them when you were growing up on the farm.
Here's one that might stump you. Look at the picture closely. It was a relatively complicated tool for its day, even if it was small.
Just for fun, if you know what it is, drop us a line at [email protected]. We'll keep everyone guessing until Friday, and then let you know what this strange piece of Americana was used for in its day. Odds are that even if you don't know what it is, you have used the product it makes, or have at least seen it. Sometimes today the product is used for different purposes than when farmers made it and used it decades ago.
Related: Can You Help Restore This Old Tractor?
"We had a great show this year at the fair," says Tim Nannet, director of the Indiana State Fair Pioneer Village Complex. Besides the original display building, Pioneer Village includes an old-fashioned pin barn with livestock, an old corn crib, a display barn which houses a toy show part of the time and a rendition of the WLS Barn Dance the rest of the time, and a wide range of exhibits sprawling over the northwest side of the fairgrounds.
Stay tuned to learn what the implement here was used for…once upon a time!