Pioneer farmers used a grain cradle to harvest the ripened wheat. After the wheat was cut, it was bound and shocked in the field.

By the mid-1860s, the self-raking reaper began to replace that old harvesting method. In 1986, the restored 1887 McCormick Daisy reaper cut its first crop in about 100 years. By peeling off layers of dirt and grease and looking under bolts and metal parts, we were able to identify the original paint colors. Kelley was a staunch advocate for labor-saving implements. After watching a sulky plow demonstrated at the 1866 Minnesota State Fair, Kelley wrote: "Won't it be fun to be a farmer when we can ride while plowing, drilling in the seed, reaping and mowing ride while raking hay, and if fortune favors us, we can ride to prosperity." He had great faith in the power of technology to make farming an easier, more pleasant occupation. Visitors see changes in technology, like the switch from the grain cradle to the reaper, to understand why Kelley welcomed these labor-saving implements.