Earl Wenger feels a kinship with the antique seed packing machine he spends his days with in the two-man seed packing room at Rohrer Seeds in Lancaster. The man who invented it was a genius, says Wenger, 81, who has worked for 15 years with the Ballard antique seed packing machine he fondly calls The Machine. He has kept it oiled, calibrated, cleaned and even designed modifications to meet the hand-packing needs in the back room at the seed company at 2472 Old Philadelphia Pike.
As he straightened packets so the glue reservoir would hit its mark, Wenger pointed out the features of the machine that was designed in the 1880s and works with Rohrer precision in 2021, from its custom-made scoops to the spinning drum, feed gate and funnel.