Titletown Thresheree 2024

Last Saturday, hundreds of people gathered between Bay Settlement and New Franken for an annual event celebrating the area's rich agricultural heritage. That day, the Titletown Threshing Club held their 13th annual Thresheree on the former Herbert "Hub" and Lucille Craanen farm now owned by Kevin "Hammer" Strebel and his wife, Nicki. The yearly event puts antique farming equipment and techniques on display for all to see and gives a new generation a chance to learn first-hand how their forefathers farmed the land. The Denmark News was in attendance to learn more about this annual summer tradition.

For those who do not know, "threshing" is part of the procedure used to harvest grain. Specifically, it is the process of separating and removing the grain from the stalks and husks of the plant. For previous generations of farmers, yearly threshing get-togethers were a regular part of the harvest season with local farmers from across the community pooling their labor and resources to help harvest each others’ crops. These events evolved to contain a social aspect with a tradition of food, drink and camaraderie becoming key features.

Advances in farming technology would eventually lead to the invention and mass production of the combine which would, in turn, lead threshing to become less and less common with most farmers abandoning the practice by the 1960s. Still, a generation that grew up threshing remembered the traditions surrounding the activity fondly and longed for a way to preserve the memory for future generations. Over the years, numerous threshing organizations have cropped up across the Midwest with most hosting annual "thresherees" to demonstrate the practice.

In Northeast Wisconsin, the Titletown Threshing Club has been hosting an annual thresheree since their founding in 2011 barring a year off for the COVID-19 Pandemic in 2020. Each year, the club selects a different family farm to host their display with hundreds of people coming out to spectate and take part. The club has grown each year and now boasts over sixty members. This year, the former Hub and Lucille Craanen farm, now owned by Hammer and Nicki Strebel, was selected as the site of the club's annual thresheree.

Final preparations for this year's thresheree took place Monday afternoon when a crew of volunteers cut the large field of wheat using antique equipment and piled it high onto large wagons to dry for the weekend's event. Organizers lucked out with a beautiful summer day and a delightful breeze that helped cut the high temperatures. Starting at 11:30 a.m., crews started taking turns climbing onto the wagons of stacked wheat, tossing the stalks into the large threshing machine where the grain was separated and funneled into adjoining wagons while the stalks were sent out the back to a feed cutter before the trimmed straw was blown into a separate wagon. The machinery was powered by belts hooked to antique tractors, and participants took turns hooking up their tractors to power the equipment.

Besides the central threshing display, this year's event also featured a number of other activities including a bounce house and wagon rides for youngsters. Concessions were available under a large tent with another tent serving as a dining area as well as a shady break from the sun. The event also featured an enormous antique tractor show with rows of aged equipment lining as far as the eye could see.

Along with a celebration of the area's agricultural past, the thresheree was also a chance for both the Craanen and Strebel families to commemorate and share their own histories. A barn near the event's entrance had displays that described each family's unique history in the community and how they had intersected over the years as well as photos of the various family farms throughout the decades. The event served as a great opportunity for members of both families to come together and take part in the same tasks that had brought their families together all those years ago.

This year's 13th annual Titletown Thresheree was a huge success with hundreds of people coming out to view and take part in the historical agricultural process. The event went off without a hitch thanks to the tireless efforts of the dedicated members of the Titletown Threshing Club and their families. The thresheree was a great chance to spend time with family, friends and neighbors and to see and experience a piece of our rich farming heritage.