First and Last 25 LB and Last 100
LB Little Giants
Will Be on Display at 2008 BAM Conference
Click here for details.
 January
1, 1908 was business as usual at the Little Giant Company in
Mankato, Minnesota. While we take New Year’s Day off as a
holiday, the Mayer brothers were busy shipping the first 25 LB
Little Giant ever manufactured to W.C. Mann of Ralston,
Oklahoma.
98 years later, the power hammer marked with serial number 1 has
come home in a sense, to the modern incarnation of the Little
Giant company owned by Sid and Mary Suedmeier in Nebraska City,
Nebraska.
Serial number 1 in any of the 5 sizes of Little Giant power
hammers is a sort of Holy Grail, a piece of elusive mythical
history. How did we manage to lay our hands on this rusty little
gem?
Tuesday, September 19, 2006 we received a telephone call from
Jim Carothers, president of the Saltfork Craftsmen Artist
Blacksmith Association. “I think I may have something you will
want,” is how the conversation opened. That was a capital
understatement!
Many people have called saying they have a hammer that is #1,
because that is the casting number for the frame of a Little
Giant. It is a logical error. Something in Jim’s voice belied an
understanding of this Little Giant’s importance. He said the
serial number was stamped on the spine, in a spot that had been
filed flat. This is characteristic of the serial numbers of very
early 50 LB Little Giants, which was the first size
manufactured. We have run into this on a very few 25 LB hammers
also.
Next Jim informed us that the hammer was located south of Perry,
Oklahoma, a mere 40 miles from the original shipping destination
of Ralston. Jackpot! The photos Jim sent were verification of
what we already knew—this hammer is the real deal!
Jack Powers had purchased this hammer in Ralston years before,
and now was looking to sell it. He contacted Jim in order to
advertise the hammer in the Saltfork Craftsmen’s newsletter.
Thanks to both of them for working to get #1 to us!
Sid sent a check to Jack the next day, and picked up the hammer
at Jack’s horse training facility the following month. “The only
thing I wanted to know was if it was the real thing. After
seeing the serial number, there was no doubt,” said Sid.
#1, which we have taken to calling ‘Alpha,’ currently sits in
rusty condition next to 25 LB #8876, also known as ‘Omega’. This
hammer is the last frame ever cast and machined by Little Giant
in Mankato, and has never been assembled. It was part of the
remains of the company that Sid and Mary purchased in 1991.
Since Omega was never sold, there isn’t a date associated with
it in the sales records. But Alpha has one heck of a birthday
coming up; 100 years old in January. Our goal is to have both
hammers restored in time for a big birthday party, then put both
of them to work here in our shop. Other times they may be on
display or put to use at conferences.
Stay tuned for updates as we put both of these hammers back into
shape! |
