SCHIELD BANTAM
In construction, a Bantam is
a truck-mounted shovel-crane built by the Schield Bantam Company in Waverly
Iowa between 1942 and 1964. Vern Schield designed and built the
original. Vern and his brother Wilbur built the first 9 Bantams in a barn
at Vern's quarry. Together, in less than 15 years, they built the Schield
Bantam Company to be the world's largest manufacturer of truck-mounted cranes.
NEWS
M-47 at ConExpo/ConAGG
Calvin
Cooiker displayed his beautifully-restored M-47 at ConExpo: the largest
construction equipment show on earth in Las Vegas 19-23
March, 2003. For details, go to www.ConexpoConAGG.com.
Contact Cal at Cooiker@willinet.net
or at 712-546-7396.
Schield Bantam Video:
A documentary video has bee created by the
Communications Department at Wartburg College. This 30 minute video
covers all aspects of the history of the Schield Bantam and the Schield Bantam
Company in Waverly, Iowa. The
first presentation was held Wednesday, 17 April at Wartburg College in
Waverly, Iowa.
Wilbur Schield: 1909-2007, Eileen Schield: 1918-2007.
HISTORY
Early Bantams:
Here is an early Bantam trench-hoe digging along side the
first plant at Vern's quarry. Notice the truck -- it is not an army
surplus truck.
Vern and Wilbur: 
Wilbur and Vern were close -- perhaps they complemented each
other. When Vern and Marjorie took their honeymoon in California, Wilbur
went along. Here are Vern and Wilbur at the beach.
Quarry History:
The first Bantam was designed to work in a quarry -- a lime
quarry. The lime was used to fertilize -- to "sweeten" -- the
soil and make it less acidic so farmers could raise alfalfa for their dairy
cows. Here is a dump-truck at Vern's quarry unloading limestone into the
crusher.
Bantam Dragline on a Half-Track:
Some of the surplus trucks from the US Army were
half-tracks: wheels on the front and tracks on the back. Some of the
Bantams were mounted on these half-tracks. Here is an early Bantam
dragline mounted on a half-track.
Building A Bantam:
The heart of the Bantam was built on an assembly line. After it was
complete, it was mounted on a truck or a self-propelled crawler. Here is
a close-up of the Bantam assembly line at the Waverly plant.
Waverly Plant:
After June 1946, all Bantams were manufactured in the new
Waverly plant. Here is how that plant first looked.
Schield Family Chronicles
The Fred and Emma Schield Family History (including a brief overview of the Schield Bantam Company).
Source: www.SchieldBantam.org
Updated February, 2002
The papers in PDF format are viewable with Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Disclaimer:
This web site is published by Milo Schield. Contact him at Milo@Pro-ns.net. While the information
presented here is believed to be accurate, it does not represent official
information about the Schield Bantam Company or any successor company to the
Schield Bantam Company.
McKelvey Family Homestead, Ireland