Area farmers were also inventors. In 1921, Joe Promenschenkel and partners Harry Kyle, Fred Yetzer and Edward Promenschenkel built and received 10 patents for a shock corn husker, which they displayed in the tractor building. The 5 hp engine could run on gasoline or kerosene and husk 250 bushels of corn a day. The incorporation papers for the Corn Harvesting Manufacturing Company show that sister Victorine Yetzer was also a shareholder. The company tried to lure investors in Shelby, but were unsuccessful. A company in Toledo eventually partnered with Joe Promenshenkel and he moved the business there. Joe became a successful farm implement dealer in Toledo and Genoa.
Shelby Cycle History 