Custom Harvest Tribute and the Combine Man

This is video footage of Len Holo's harvest run, known as the 2004 Custom Harvest Tribute. This event commemorates the 1944 Harvest Brigades multi-state harvest by 500 Massey-Harris No 21 and No. 21A combines for the war effort in parts of the West and Midwest. Lens commemoration effort, which took place in the spring and summer of 2004, took him and the M-H No. 21A combine loaded on the back of a restored work truck from the northern most reaches of North Dakota south through Kansas, Oklahoma and into northern Texas. Along the way, he stopped to share his story and the story of the original brigade as well as demonstrate the combine in action. At Tulia, Texas - Len reversed the tour and made his way back the north concluding his journey in Langdon, North Dakota. His course was plotted to closely match the original Harvest Brigade of 1944.

[@johnkordish3546]

I can’t believe that people restore these old combines its awesome

[@stevemccoy8138]

Back in the 60s we had a Massey Harris combine, Special 92 ,I think. I was a young kid, but I could run it by myself. Also helped Dad put a new engine in it. 16' header seemed huge. 😊

[@johnkordish3546]

This is a great video of a combine

[@marilynmceachern7926]

I am from Saskatchewan in Canada. As a teen, I started on a Massey 21, auger table. My uncle had a canvas table model. They were both a little old when I started (late 50s). Before we owned them, they had been used by local custom harvesters who went down to Texas in the late spring and followed the harvest northward through Oklahoma, Kansas, and on up until they would get home in late August to take care of the harvest up here. I always enjoyed the romance (if that's not too sappy) of those times. Great stuff!

[@marilynmceachern7926]

I should note, I am not Marilyn. I am Lloyd. For some reason, the KZbin account appears in her name! Although, she is a good farm girl, and would have some stories of her own!

[@42lookc]

The 21 might be 75 years old, but you still have to admit it's a very impressive machine! WWII wasn't just won by bombers, fighters, battleships, and tanks. The Massey-Harris 21 and 21A were right in the fight, too!

[@bakkenboy]

My first ride was a massey 21 still have it rusting away in the prairie

[@ianBeer123]

My neighbor here in Ontario had one of those combines from new and used it until he got a M-F 300. The old girl eventually went for scrap after rusting away under a tree for years because nobody wanted it. It was one of the very first ones made and we tried many times to find someone who would want it for it's historic value. Maybe it was just too soon for it to have had any value but I thought it was sad to see it go. One thing I do remember about them though was that they had a nasty habit of catching fire because of the location of the engine under the throat like that. Chaff could build up and then start to smoulder before bursting into flames if you weren't careful about stopping to clean it.

[@LegacyQuarterly]

This combine is featured in the July issue of Legacy Quarterly Magazine. This is the new Massey Harris Ferguson magazine that was just launched this year.

[@martinejoseph1644]

Des céréales très éparses faciles à battre de courtes pailles, très peu fournies !!! Ce qui explique ces énormes machines d'aujourd'hui avec des barres de coupe infiniment larges de 15 /20 mètres ! Un bonjour de FRANCE le 28/01/18

[@johnkordish3546]

Massey Harris 21a

[@LegacyQuarterly]

Read more about Len's combine in M-H-F Legacy Quarterly issue #3.

[@mountfields]

hello from the UK. ours is the 21 but we don`t know what make/spec engine it is ?? (straight 6 flat head) any help is most appreciated.....

[@johnkordish3546]

Did he die