Adolf Nebgen, here after affectionately referred to as “Daddy”, had long done custom hay baling in the Stonewall area with a horse-powered baler. This type of baler had removable wheels, used for transporting, which were removed at the site, so that it sat on the ground. A horse, mule or donkey, harnessed to a long pole and walking in a circle, provided the power. The hay being baled was usually in a “haystack” in the barnyard. The haystack was formed by setting a long cedar post into the ground and then stacking the hay around it in the fashion of a cone. When hay was cut in the field, it was first stacked in smaller piles called “shocks”. A long pipe was stuck under the shock, a rope was tied across from the front to the back, and then it was dragged to the barnyard to be added to the hay stack. If Daddy’s schedule permitted, the shocks were dragged from the field directly to where the baler was set up and fed directly into the baler. Because most farmers were cutting hay at about the same time and due to the difficulty of moving and setting up the baler, most of the hay had to be put into haystacks.

Daddy recognized the need for a mobile hay baler to more efficiently serve his customers. Since such an implement was not readily available, Daddy set out to build one of his own design. The 1937 John Deere Model 40 hay press, later referred to as a hay baler, was only available mounted on steel implement wheels as were used on farm wagons at that time. These would not be suitable for transporting the baler on paved roads. The baler was designed to be used in a stationary mode, next to a hay stack, powered by a belt from engine or a tractor pulley. An optional Johne Deere 6 horsepower, water cooled, one cylinder engine was also available, but it proved to have inadequate power for sustained baling. Daddy purchased only the basic hay press from Krauskopf Brothers in Fredericksburg, TX. As a very young boy, I recall that when the baler was ...

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