The Wolverine Hay press;

    The hay press appears to be a Wolverine sold by the Ypsilanti Hay Press Co. of Ypsilanti Michigan. It is very similar in design to one sold by the Banting Manufacturing Co. of Toledo Ohio, and called a Greyhound Wolverine. Given the similarity of design, and of name, one wonders if the design wasn't farmed out for royalty. The archives at the Henry Ford Museum had no knowledge of either the company or the hay press. We are left only with the company's advertisements which provides pictures and capacity claims. While this baler has a wooden frame, wooden axles and steel wheels, it was also produced with options of a steel frame, wooden wheels, and steel axles. It was built in four sizes. This one has a 17" x 21" bale chamber so is one of the biggest, if not the biggest.

    This hay press dates back to a design patent in 1907 by the Ypsilanti Hay Press Co. While this particular machine may not be that old it seems to have been used before anyone currently alive was able to work with it or observe one in operation. One can assume that it might date back to the time of the first world war or shortly thereafter.

    The company advertisements boast of the balers simplicity, strength and durability, putting more weight into bales than any other press. Guaranteed to put from 20 to 40 pounds more into each bale they claimed. It attributes this attribute to the parented double (two directional) tension on the bale chamber. They also boast of having the most perfect block drop on the market.

    The intent is to loan the hay press to the Dufferin County Museum so that others may enjoy our agricultural heritage.

LOCAL HISTORY AS "BRYAN'S HAYPRESS";

The hay press being restored is believed to have belonged to R.D. "Roy" Bryan, an Orangeville hay, grain and local coal dealer. Mr. Bryan started his business in the mid 1920's operating out of a location on  Broadway. He operated the hay business along with his brother Wilson Bryan and ultimately with his son Glen Bryan. Besides the hay, grain and coal business the Bryans farmed about a 1000 acres in Amaranth. The hay business was sold in 1956 to Louis Menary of Grand Valley but the business continued as a car dealership and ultimately as a Heating/air conditioning business now known as Bryans Fuels and owned by R.D.s grandsons Greg and Roy Bryan.

    This hay press fell into the possession of the late Glen Ewing of Shelburne who appears to have started to restore it but made little progress The Ewing business was purchased by Jack Langen, including this baler. Jack donated the "parts" to the High Country Power Club when he sold the business several years later. Several club members, lead by Cecil Smith, restored the machine to its current condition over the winter of 2002-03.

    Jim Langridge, a long time Bryan employee, remembers working with the Bryan hay business in 1946 but at that time Mr. Bryan had progressed to all steel hay presses, likely those sold by J.I.Case.

    R.D.Bryan operated two and even three hay presses all year round. They were towed from farm to farm by a one and a half ton truck that also carried the auxiliary motor that ran the hay press. Mr. Bryan supplied three men with the machine, presumably the farmer provided the rest. Jim Langridge remembers one of the last hay crews being made up of Charlie Ross (foreman), Jack Moore and Kenny Stewart, the later two being the puncher and the tier (tied the bales with wire).

    Hay was baled all over Dufferin County, and as far west as Arthur, Listowel and Palmerton. While hay was normally baled out of the barn, in haying season it could be baled right in the field. To do this the Bryans had a buck rake mounted on one of these ton and a half trucks that gathered the hay and brought it to the hay press.

    The hay was trucked to Toronto on three ton trucks.

(This story is a work in progress. Contributions are encouraged from anyone having information about this baler or the Bryan hay business).