The ‘greatest self-feeder in the world’ was invented in Halstead

One Halstead man’s innovation played an important role in the evolution of threshing equipment more than a hundred years ago. The Ruth Self-Feeder, invented and patented by Halstead resident D.C. Ruth to regulate the speed at which wheat bundles were carried into a thresher, was manufactured in Halstead from 1900-1905. At that time, Ruth Self-Feeder Manufacturing Company was the biggest business in Halstead, according to Carolyn Williams, who’s done extensive research on the company for the Halstead Historical Society. “It grew and grew and really became big,” Williams said.
Source: Harvey County Now