The Plano Reaper has been the mascot of the Plano high school athletics teams from its beginning. With an agricultural and industrial spirit, the people of the City of Plano always have been proud to call themselves the Birthplace of the Harvester, and the high school teams adopted the “Plano Reaper” as its symbol.
There are precious few of these amazing innovative machines in existence, one of which is owned by the Plano Area Chamber of Commerce. In the 1800s Plano was an important industrial city with designers in fierce competition to create the best working and most efficient machines for harvesting grain.
The story of how many innovative builders collaborated and competed are documented in two books for sale by the Plano Historical Society: Better than the Reaper: Plano’s Harvester History, and Better than the Reaper, Plano’s Harvester History for Kids, both by Jeanne Valentine.
Cyrus McCormick and International Harvester unfortunately often get credit for the development of the Reaper, but International Harvester was actually the combination of five companies which merged in order to reduce the fierce competition that long had characterized reaper and harvester manufacturing and sales. Two of the five companies which merged to form International Harvester were Plano Manufacturing Company and Deering Manufacturing, both of which had their start in Plano. However, by the time of the merger both were based in Chicago.
In her writings, Valentine contends and demonstrates that the Light Running Plano was better than the original reapers, in that it could not just cut the grain, but would then deposit the grain on the machine’s platform where one or two individuals riding on the harvester could bind the grain and drop it to the ground to be stacked into shocks. Valentine writes, “The backbreaking work of gathering the grain from the ground and binding it into sheaves was exchanged for a quicker, less strenuous, bundling process accomplished while riding on the harvester. This is Plano’s legacy.”
The first harvester factory opened in Plano in 1861. The harvester owned by Plano Area Chamber of Commerce was built in 1886.
Now, 138 years later, the Plano “Reaper” is seeing a lot of new attention. For years, the commerce association featured the “Reaper” in the high school’s Homecoming and community parades, until the integrity of the trailer that carried it became unstable. The “Reaper” was stored away in a barn. Its image was featured on the school’s walls and gymnasium floor, and throughout the city for years. But few knew where the “Reaper” had been hidden.
Just after opening the Plano Historical Society Museum in December 2022, the membership sought the “Reaper” and found it hidden in an old barn. The barn was in bad shape, offering little protection for the Reaper. Intervention was needed and quickly.
The Historical Society approached the Chamber with a unique offer. Volunteers would work on restoration of the machine, and invest in a new trailer to carry it, if the chamber would allow them to do so and raise money to complete the renovation.
The Historical Society reached out to businesses across the United States to make a custom replacement for the canvas, for wood workers to replicate broken and rotten boards, and for painters to restore the surface to its original status. Volunteers are making great progress in the restoration, while hoping and praying that they break even on costs. Once the ‘Reaper” is completely restored, the two organizations hope to find a better location for its storage and display.
Fundraising efforts include sales of both of Valentine’s books at the Plano Community Library and the Plano Historical Society Museum, T-shirts and sweatshirts sold online at https://conta.cc/3SHyrx1, and cash donations at the Museum and through the link Help us Restore the Reaper (zeffy.com). Donations may be directed to Plano Historical Society, 4 S. West Street, Plano, IL 60545. For more information about this project, contact Plano Historical Society at PlanoILHistorical
Society@gmail.com.
Barb Nadeau is a freelance writer, whose career has included more than 10 years as a public relations professional, 22 years as a professional television and radio host, print journalist, and volunteer coordination professional, networking among non-profit social service agencies and service providers throughout Illinois. She is a two-term elected alderman in the City of Plano. Contact Barb at bvnadeau@gmail.com.