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COTTON
BALING A SUCCESS
Westville entered a new era on Friday, April 26 about 3:15pm. At that moment, Westville became the first and only museum in the world to produce a bale of cotton on an animal-powered cotton baler. Indeed, cotton probably has not been baled this way since World War I. The re-constructed baler used the form and space of a press which has been in Westville's collections since 1968. The new baler is made from new parts which were carefully constructed by Ken Coogle and Henry Lynch, Jr. The original parts have been placed in conservation storage to protect them.
History
of the Johnson Cotton Baling Press Col. John Word West bought the baler in 1934 to be part of his museum called "The Harvest Festival" at Jonesboro, Georgia. Col. West died in 1961, having been unsuccessful at getting the state to take over his collection. Westville Village was founded in 1966 in order to acquire the Harvest Festival as the backdrop for a much bigger living history museum. The press was disassembled and moved to Westville about 1968 by Westville volunteers, including Owen J. Stapleton and Buster Moore. The late Henry Lynch, Sr. then re-constructed the press at Westville. Its restoration was dedicated to the memory of William Z. Mathis, an early Westville volunteer who explained the operation of the press to Westville's visitors. The
New Press The going was not easy. One of the major obstacles was finding a white oak log big enough. After a year of searching, one was finally located in the City of Atlanta. Storing such a log then became something of a Coogle family nightmare, leaving them with many unusual stories to relate for years to come. It dominated the garage for years. Finally, Mr. Coogle turned the completed screw over to Westville in 2001. The job then switched to Henry Lynch, Jr., Westville's traditional carpenter and plant manager, to build a nut for the screw and to install it in the baling press frame. Lynch is the son of the man who re-built the press when it came from the West Collection to Westville. Betty Van Cleave and her family came forward with a gift of $25,000 to assist in the process. Their gift was in memory of her husband, Noll A. Van Cleave, Sr., who was on the Westville board for 25 years, serving as board chair and as a member of the Executive Committee. Down
to the Last Week After so many months and years of work on the project, Mr. Lynch's operation forced him to miss the first bale of cotton to come out of the press. It was a bitter moment for him. The operation hurt less than the violation of his wish to be present. (He is recovering at home now.) The
Actual Baling Visitors watched as a sack of cotton was brought by hand from the lint room of Westville's Bagley Cotton Gin (an animal-powered gin). The lint was stuffed into the baling box. Then, the oxen pulled the huge levers on the top of the press. With a loud groan, the mighty screw began to turn in place through the wooden nut, compacting the cotton underneath the screw. The press bottomed out, and the animals were turned around, heading in the opposite direction. This unscrewed the baler. Another sack was put in the box, the animals screwed down the baler, and they unscrewed it again. Finally, after the third sack of cotton was packed, the bale was ready. Pre-installed ropes were cinched into metal hooks. Brinson and his crew tied off the ropes and pulled out Westville's very first bale of cotton. Success on the very first try!
Thanks Westville thanks Ken Coogle for his dedication to producing a historically correct and functioning wooden screw. We thank his family also for their patience and assistance over many, many months and for accompanying him on this victorious day. Westville thanks Henry Lynch, Jr., Al Brinson, and their crew for reproducing the baling press nut and frame and also for making the press work on schedule. Thanks also to Tim Kisor for his heavy timber work and for helping in Mr. Lynch's absence. Thanks also to the oxen and their team members, Chris Davis (oxen owner and trainer), Carl Grant of Westville, and Josh Martin. Westville thanks the Johnson family of Rome for providing the completed circle of this baling press by attending the first baling ceremony. Finally, Westville reaches into its early beginning to thank all who volunteered to assemble the great collections of the museum. A few of them who were remembered at the baling ceremony are: Sonny Stapleton, Buster Moore, William Z. Mathis, Joe Mahan, and Col. John Word West. Several Photographs follow:
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