My 1930s Farm Shop (2)

My original 1930's farm shop thread has had most of the pictures deleted so I figured I'd go ahead and start a new one.

Basically to recap for the folks who might not remember the original thread; I grew up on a family farm in Illinois that had been in the family since around 1893. My Dad was the last Patterson to farm the place and he quite farming around 1968 and moved off the farm around 1974. The majority of the items I have were those that Dad saved when he moved and put in a shed where they were forgotten until I started retrieving them.

Turning the office area of my shop into a representation of a 1930s farm shop all started several years ago when I restored my Granddads forge and anvil. They had been used to shoe horses on the family farm until around 1936 when the farm transitioned from horses to tractors. This was also one of the first projects that Cade and I did together.


https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4348/...6c94d7c0_z.jpgcade 3 by M Patterson, on Flickr


https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4343/...570bf8df_z.jpgforge restored by M Patterson, on Flickr


https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4394/...06acf84c_z.jpganvil by M Patterson, on Flickr



I started bringing the old rusty tools that had been my Granddad and Great Granddads Pattersons' back to Arizona with me when I made my trips back home to Illinois to see family. In the condition they were in, no one but me had any interest in them.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4419/...aa43e019_z.jpgz rust 1 by M Patterson, on Flickr


Over time I got the tools de-rusted, painted and displayed. Seeing them cleaned and displayed and knowing these are the tools my Granddads had actually used always brings a smile to my face

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4439/...911827eb_z.jpgworkbench3 by M Patterson, on Flickr



https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4359/...5d17fe3e_z.jpgworkbench1 by M Patterson, on Flickr



https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4417/...d520f71c_z.jpgwall tools by M Patterson, on Flickr



https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4417/...60259c48_z.jpglube section by M Patterson, on Flickr



https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4383/...6aaf4815_z.jpgwilburs tool box by M Patterson, on Flickr





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Part 2


I also brought some bigger items back that had been on the Family Farm in Illinois.

One was the Dinner/Emergency Bell that used to hang from a 15 tower in the back yard. The bell came from a steam locomotive build in 1880 that had been scrapped around 1920. It was pretty tarnished when I got it and needed a carriage built to make it ring but I think it came out pretty good.


https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4368/...91bf6f6e_z.jpgBell 1 by M Patterson, on Flickr


And it has a very nice (and loud) sound to it........just ask my youngest Grandson Austin. :LOL:


https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4371/...84563fe4_z.jpgZ Austin Bell Cropped by M Patterson, on Flickr


For a desk I moved in and am using the roll top desk my Grandfather (maternal side) used for his barber supply company in the 1930s-40s.



https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4436/...b8771050_z.jpgdesk by M Patterson, on Flickr



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Part 3


One of the favorite things I brought back was the 1923 Waterloo Boy 2hp Hit and Miss engine my dad had picked up and restored in the 1960s. Sitting in the old shed for the last 30 or so years had not been kind to it.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4336/...6bffa78d_z.jpgwaterlooboy 1 by M Patterson, on Flickr


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I tore it completely down and re-restored it and got it running again.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4430/...c8d6b428_z.jpgwaterloo boy restored by M Patterson, on Flickr


Of course it didn't take too long to decide the engine actually needed something to DO so I built a line shaft to so the engine could run tools that had come from the farm (or in a couple cases just like the ones that had been on the Farm in the 1930s).




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6JxFYy7-0A



Ok the can crusher is not 1930s, but it is amusing to watch :LOL:




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Part 4

When I went back to Illinois last October, Mom asked if I wanted to bring the family bookcase back with me.......I'm pretty sure she knew what the answer would be. I was also lucky enough to bring back several of the old books including some that had the signatures of Great Great Grandparents.


https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4375/...59a58220_z.jpgbookcase by M Patterson, on Flickr


That pretty much brings it up to the present. I went back to Illinois for a few weeks in July. Mom had to be moved from the home she and dad had lived in for the last 40+ years and into an extended care facility. The house is up for sale and things had to be moved out. Moms wishes were that the things go to the people that would have eventually inherited them anyway rather than being moved into storage somewhere. My trip back there this time will be the last one I bring anything back to Arizona from there.



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I brought some beautiful pieces of furniture that had belonged for my Great grandfather, and some that had been made by my Grandfather while he was in high school around 1910. I will probably add pictures of those pieces when I get a chance.

I did bring a few things back that ended up out in the shop to go with the other things from the farm.

The first couple of things are corn huskers/shuckers, These were worn on the hand and used to strip the corn husks off the ears of corn as they were hand picked and thrown in the wagon (my dad used to tell of picking corn by hand under a full moon when he was a kid in the 1930's-40's).



https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4339/...132b7344_z.jpgCorn Huskers by M Patterson, on Flickr



To go along with those is the corn dryer. Basically a shaft of metal with prongs on it. When they hand picked the corn, they would hold back the biggest ears of corn and hang them on these dryers. These would be the ears that would be shelled and used as seed the following year. The racks would be hung from the barn rafters on a wire (there used to be rows and rows of these in the old barn on the farm). The racks would not only let the corn dry but would put it in a place the mice couldn't get to it.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4395/...5104307b_z.jpgCorn Dryer by M Patterson, on Flickr



Then there are the Sleigh Bells. These date to my great Grandfathers time (around 1900). There used to be 2 long strings of these hanging in the old machine shed back on the farm. My dad got one set and my Aunt the other. The leather on the set was falling apart 30 years ago and Dad partially took his set apart about that time. He had me take 15-20 of the bells and re-string them for him (so he could hang them across a couple of boards in the back of the pickup truck and let them ring when he drove thru town). He also let mom make a small string to hang in the house during the Holidays.



https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4415/...33f651d3_z.jpgSleigh Bells by M Patterson, on Flickr



My brother got the set I had strung for dad, and I brought back the string mom had made to re-string for my sister. What was left over on the original leather was mine and I made them into 2 strings.


https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4357/...2be9757f_z.jpgSleigh Bells by M Patterson, on Flickr



My 2 strings are hanging in the corner of the shop with the rest of the old tools and stuff ....... although I suspect I'll get talked into bringing them in the house come Christmas time.


https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4380/...f56aee9f_z.jpgold tools by M Patterson, on Flickr


I also brought back a winter project. My dad bought this radio/record player just before he and Mom got married in 1949. On the bright side the turntable runs and the bad side is that it doesn't make any noise on the radio or record player (I suspect I'll find a bad tube or 2). I've also got to figure out what to do with the finish on the lid which has seen better days.


https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4386/...1b81fc40_z.jpgRadio 2 by M Patterson, on Flickr



https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4377/...e5d7d7d7_z.jpgRadio 2 by M Patterson, on Flickr






This will end up living in the house once I get it done. Of course where I plan on putting it will result in having to install a new outlet, so I guess it will turn into more than one project :LOL:



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Very nice Mike! When I was in high school and in FFA, 10 of us went to western Nebraska for 2 weeks to live and work on a farm that still operated like it was 1900. The first week was in spring and we got the ground ready, then planted. The last week was during harvest and we got to do all that. At that time we had horses so since I was used to being around horses, I got to assist in the hitching/unhitching, and driving the horses. If people had to work like that these days, there would be a lot less population! That was a great experience. It was funny some of the others that went with us that thought they could live like that. After the 2nd day the first week, half of them were ready to go back home. Sadly, that farm is no longer in operation either.

Anyhow, I'm sure your grand children enjoy seeing all that stuff. Those hit and miss engines are too cool. How hard are they to get parts for now?

".......Those hit and miss engines are too cool. How hard are they to get parts for now?......."

Parts for the more common ones (like the Waterloo Boys, Internationals,. Fairbanks Morris John Deeres etc) are not too bad. Some guys are having small runs of the more commonly needed parts cast, and/or you can usually find one being parted out that is not economically repairable.

Like the early days of the automobile there were hundreds of small manufactures (and bigger companies like Waterloo Boy were making "contract engines" to customers specs) meaning low production numbers and virtually impossible to find parts for some engines

I remember when Dad restored the old Waterloo Boy back in the mid 60s .......of course long before the internet or vendors dealing with the old stuff (I was probably 10-12 at the time). He needed a couple of Gaskets and rings for it. He bought a couple of sheets of gasket material which solved one problem. The big issue was rings. As I recall the Waterloo Boy took a 1/4" wide ring, and of course nobody offered one that width in the right diameter. The counterman let dad spend some time with the parts books and dad finally found an 1/8" ring the right diameter. Dad simply used 2 rings in each ring land and cut his own gaskets. He needed valves for it too, but was able to find a couple of stainless small engine valves that would work. I thought he was the smartest guy in the world when he got it running.

On a side note the engine was free (it turned over when I got it), and the rings and valves he put in there back in the 60s are still in it (after a valve grind and cylinder honing). I couldn't save the head gasket dad had made, so I did the same thing he had and cut a new gasket for a sheet of material. The one thing I did a little different than dad was have the tank decals custom made at the local graphics shop......they wern't available then or now.

My Grandson Cade was looking over my shoulder when I went thru the engine pretty much like I had done with Dad (truth be known I suspect Dad was looking down on both of us and smiling). Who knows by the time he has kids or grandkids it may need to be redone again.


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Thanks so much for sharing all this. For years when I would see and old tool I wouldn't think much of it until I really looked at one once and started thinking of all the history and things the person that held that wrench had done. I picture the sleigh bells being put on the horse on Christmas week. Coming home proud as a Peacock with a new record player that he saved money for and cussing because he forgot to drain the water on the hit and miss motor on a winter night and it froze, then telling mom about it as she was reading a book. Maybe a little to Norman Rockwell like but I'm sure you know what I mean. Those are great artifacts and its great that your grand kids have taken an interest in helping too.

I have always admired your talents in developing this shop. Mike. It looks great, and should be an inspiration for your grandkids.

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Except for collecting parts I've kind of been taking a break from cars for a bit and doing some house stuff. One of the projects was finally getting the old radio/record player in the house.

I'd been regularly treating the cabinet on it with wood oil and the finish came back a lot better than I had expected it to. I found a set of replacement knobs and new set of tubes for it. There are still a few issues keeping the radio from working that I'll eventually get to but it's better off in the house than taking up bench space in the shop.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4537/...47995a51_z.jpgRadio by M Patterson, on Flickr


When I started working on/researching the record player I found out some interesting things I didn't know. For one the record player is for 78 RPM records only as it was built before 33 and 45 RPM records were introduced in 1948. The 78s were generally either 10 or 12 inches and played only about 4 minutes and 6 minutes per side respectively.

Like the majority of people at the time. other than reading the old record player/radio was the sole evening entertainment for mom and Dad until they bought their first TV in 1952. Far different times than today.


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Something tells me you'll end up replacing, most if not all, the wiring and all the other components. Keeping it all original will be a challenge. Have you considered changing the turntable out for one with 3 speeds?

You may be right Ken, although I have had the chassis of it out and it really doesn't look to bad. I also picked up the wiring diagrams that include the voltage/resistance values for the components.

I may end up taking the easy way out and buy a working one for parts and just change out the chassis on it.

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Love the old tools! I've got a forge that came out of my grandfather's shop that looks pretty much identical to the one in your pics. Mine is not in as good a shape as yours. It's on my "to be restored" list. The blower still works , but a couple of the legs have rotted off where it sat on the dirt in the back of his shop for years.

One of these days, I want to find and restore one of the hit and miss farm engines just so I can listen to it run. They are cool old pieces of history. I did find a single cylinder Maytag engine in a trash pile and dragged it home. It's under my workbench waiting to be gone through. It's not seized, so it might be salvageable. They were 2-stroke hit and miss.

I'm subscribing so I can follow along.

Well I thought I could live with the old record player sitting in the Arizona room as a non-working display piece..........you'd think at 66 I know myself a bit better :LOL::rolleyes::LOL:



I picked up the schematics so I got radio out of the cabinet and found I really didn't have the patience and eyesight anymore to do this kind of work. Fortunately my good friend Dave (69Bee) does and was kind enough to work on it for me. He determined that all that was wrong with the original radio was a hand full of resistors and capacitors. After waiting on parts to get in he had the radio back up and running again.



I had spent some time working a bit more on the turntable while Dave was doing the radio so everything was ready to reassemble when Dave got the radio chassis back to me. I got everything back together and while the radio worked the way it should, but when I tried the turntable no sound.


I narrowed that down to being the pickup cartridge in the tone arm. Seems the cartridge used in the record player is a crystal type, and the crystal happens to be a salt crystal . Yeah, who da thought a 70 year old salt crystal would have broken down after sitting in an attic in 120 degree temperatures and 90+ percent humidity in the summer and close to freezing and almost no humidity in the winter.



https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4791/...34cb2df7_z.jpgAstatic L 92 by M Patterson, on Flickr




Long story short there is a guy in Ohio that can actually rebuild these cartridges so off it went. It came back the other day and I got everything back together. The radio has a lot of static, but I suspect that has more to do with outside interference than the radio itself (it didn't have it when Dave was working on it) and I only get 2 AM stations where I live at anyway. The record player could probably also use a new needle and I'm keeping an eye out for one of those.


https://youtu.be/pqZ9VAu0sbc


It will sit around now and probably get plugged in once a year or so while it waits to get passed on to the next generation.


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Make sure the tynes aren't bent on the variable tuning capacitor and you might have to string an outside antenna.

I actually remembered the song on the record..:eek: does that mean I'm old? :LOL::LOL::LOL:

That's really cool you guys were able to get it working again! It sounds really good for it's age.

That great that you guys got it going and it sound pretty good. It seems like if something is broke, someone somewhere will know how to fix it.

Cool beans, Mike; and I certainly remember that song.

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Some one besides you is really lucky to have all the family things. Most of that gets tossed as the older folks pass. I for one am happy for you at 73 I still have and use some of my grandfathers tools. As long as you have there things they live in your memory. :)

It’s getting close to that time of year again, and I’ve had a little project I’ve been trying to get done the last couple of years. Looks like I made it in time for Christmas this year.

When we cleared out mom’s house after she went into the nursing home we came across a box with 3 old train sets in it. I let my brother and sister have first choice and I ended up with what was left.


https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4782/...20fff679_z.jpg20180304_073732 by M Patterson, on Flickr


https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4658/...ac286930_z.jpglt1 by M Patterson, on Flickr


When I was telling mom about who was getting what, her eyes lit up when I told her about the old Mickey Mouse circus train. She told me that it had been a Christmas present from her Dad and Granddad when she was 10 (1936). After her Dad and Granddad got thru “showing” her how it worked …..which according to mom took most of Christmas day….it was well loved and played with over the years by mom and her 3 younger sisters.


I spent the last 2 years trying to find a windup motor that would fit under the engine and looking for a tender to complete the set. I finally found both over the summer and finished it up couple of weeks ago.

The motor isn’t really the correct one for the engine but it is the right size to fit and look correct and I got it in without having to modify the engine body. The tender has just the right amount of wear that it looks like it belongs with the rest of the set.


https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4842/...1a41f336_z.jpgDT1 by M Patterson, on Flickr


My wife and I bought a toy Christmas Train our first Christmas together and have been putting it out every year. This year we’ll start putting out 2 trains.


https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4817/...c4c2e9a2_z.jpgDT2 by M Patterson, on Flickr




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(Double post during time when site didn't want to post)
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That is so awesome Mike! I'm guessing it wasn't easy to find the tender? My Dad's dad had one really similar to yours. I still remember how as a kid I found it strange that mickey mouse looked so odd compared to what we saw in that time. Probably because the train was 40yrs old or so back then. :LOL: That's very nice you were able to learn the history of the train which makes it even more special to you and the family down the road.

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Actually Ryan if it wasn’t for the story it would have been kept in the box as it was when I got it. The box probably wouldn’t have been looked at again until after I'm gone and the comments would have been “ why in the heck did Grandpa keep this? ” :LOL::LOL:


I like the idea of being able to tell Moms’ grandkids and great grandkids that that was one of Moms’ Christmas presents in 1936. I suspect because of the story it will be around a couple more generations now. That was really the driving force behind me getting it in shape to display.


I was in for sticker shock when I started looking for parts for it. It turns out that it is a pretty popular collectable. It was popular enough that in the late 80s early 90s Pride Lines reproduced the set (with an electric motor instead of the wind up one). The Pride Lines Mickey Mouse Circus Train sets go pretty high (in my mind) and the originals like this are usually higher than that. I got a pretty good deal on the tender, but I still don’t want to admit how much I paid for it :o :LOL:


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I agree with Ryan, that is so special and wonderful that you could get it into "running" shape.

I don't remember seeing one like that before either. I do still have the train set from my childhood, made by Marx. I haven't set it up in decades. Maybe you've changed that? LOL.. 8-)

As a child I had a Hornby O gauge clockwork train set. Nothing fancy, but it was well looked after. Just after WWII any toys were hard to find; so what you had you had to look after because you weren't going to get another.
It was kept for thirty years in an old butter-box that had been made into an ottoman, (I tell ya: my parents were broke!) and was stored in my workshop. Unfortunately I had to allow staff to access my workshop.
Months after one particular staff member left I noticed the butter-box was gone too. I was bloody upset and annoyed; but there was nothing I could do about it.
I too would have liked to have been able to pass that on down through the family.
You're very fortunate to have been given that opportunity and privilege.
Good one. I'm pleased for you.

This is where I'm at if not out in the shop. Some of the trains were my grandfathers. I have no cheap hobbies.

WOW! That is great.

I'll admit, I occasionally pull up some of the model Rail Roads on You tube.....It's really neat when they put a camera inside the train.

I've also been following the 4014 Big Boy restoration now and them.


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Dang, that is amazing Mr. Fischer!

Such a neat setup. I don't think I'd ever shut them off. 8-)

Charlie, that is very nice! When we were kids my dad got into H scale trains. We had an old ping pong table that was covered and made into a city. The room the trains were in was an old coal room. At one point in time dad had the trains going on the ledge of the walls and then up to the ceiling. We had mountain tunnels and a lot of cool stuff. Sadly it all got destroyed when one of my mom's brothers brought a girl friend with him. She ended up staying at our house for a few weeks. She went off on a bi-polar rant and trashed the basement one day. Dad put her ass on a bus back to Florida that afternoon.

Dad still has a lot of cars and engines and track that survived the womanado. He said I could have it all to do the same with my kids. It's on my to do list. :LOL:

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"womanado".....:LOL::LOL::LOL::eek::eek::3dSMILE::3dSMILE::LOL::LOL:

I have a new and unexpected addition to the office in my shop.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...195691f3_z.jpgSD1 by M Patterson, on Flickr


My brother had always loved the safe and he inherited it when mom passed away. I was pretty surprised when he called a while back and asked me I I wanted it. He wanted to insure that it would stay in the family when he is gone and knew that the family stuff I collected would eventually be passed to my grandkids. Anyway he even brought it out to me from Illinois.


The safe had been my Great Granddad’s (E.F. (Edward Foster) Stanbrough). The letter the Victor Safe Company sent him when it was shipped is even still in it. Unfortunately the letter isn’t dated but I think I can date by the serial number. I think it’s probably from the early 1900s.



https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...4dce2383_z.jpgSD2 by M Patterson, on Flickr


Darn thing probably weighs between 500 and 750 pounds. Like most safes of the time it’s concrete lined. The combination works and even has the key for the small internal lock box. It will be a good place the store some of the important papers.


The desk it sits next to had been my grandfathers (Foster’s son in law) and safe and desk had pretty much always been together since the 1940’s. I’m glad to see them reunited again. :D




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You're pretty fortunate to have the combination for the lock!

My younger brother recently passed away. I was fortunate enough to get back to Iowa before he died and while he was still lucid enough to talk to. I am so thankful I could make the trip back and spend some time with him although in retrospect the time was far too short. I’ve been working on this post for a while now, it seems to help me process what happened. He was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer January 1st and passed on the 14th of March.

While I was back there, he passed a few things on to me that he wanted to stay in the family. I haven’t cleaned and displayed them yet, that’s a job for a little later. When I look at the old family tools in my shop, I can’t help but think about the hands that held them and these will be no different. This post is dedicated to my brother.




The planes are all special. The large one belonged to our Dad, the middle sized one had been my brothers and the small palm plane had belonged to our Great Grandfather (moms’ side).



https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...88b9fa9b_z.jpgplanes by M Patterson, on Flickr


The saw and older hand scythe had belonged to our Great Grandfather (Dad’s side). The newer hand scythe had been our Grandfathers’. The pulley had also belonged to our Great Granddad, and I had restored it for my brother a few years back.


https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...e930fd92_z.jpgsaw hand scythe by M Patterson, on Flickr


Then there are the irons that had been our Great Grandmothers’ I had seen the irons before but had never seen the handle that fit over them to lift them off the stove.


The Rail Road padlocks came from my Grandfather when he worked as a Rail Road express guard in 1920-21 after he came back from the war.


https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...e62faab1_z.jpgirons locks by M Patterson, on Flickr




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This is a picture of my Grandfather Cecil that I had also never seen. He’s standing by the 1936 John Deere Model A he bought new in 1936. As far as we can tell the picture was probably taken in 36 or 37. This was the first tractor on the farm and began the phaseout of farming with horses.


https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...894442cf_c.jpgCecil 36 JD A by M Patterson, on Flickr


The tractor is actually still in the family. It was passed to my Dad after Grandpa passed away a couple years before I was born. One of my first paint jobs was redoing the tractor in 1969 (the picture is of my younger brother Dennis). When dad quit farming the tractor went to him. When Dennis sold his place a few years ago the tractor went to our cousin (who is also a grandchild of Cecil’s). It looks a little worse for wear now but her and her husband are planning on doing a restoration on it.


https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...8e585d54_z.jpgDennis 36 A by M Patterson, on Flickr



Another piece I got from my brother was an old toy dump rake. This had belonged to my Uncle Wilbur. Wilbur died when he was 16 and this was packed away and passed down thru my side of the family. The rake is horse drawn and appears that it was barely played with.


https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...3737ffda_z.jpgDump Rake by M Patterson, on Flickr



I thought it would be neat to make a small display to show the rake and picture (and bore my Grandkids with more stories :LOL:) so I looked around and found a model A tractor to display the rake with.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...ee99d70d_z.jpgRTP by M Patterson, on Flickr


The tractor is not really inappropriate to be hooked to the hay rake. In many cases like my grandfathers’ when a farm bought it’s first tractor there was usually not enough in the budget to replace all the horse drawn equipment at the same time. As I understand it, the first year Grandpa only bought the tractor and a plow.

He also kept the horses instead of selling them off. This was basically insurance in case the whole tractor thing didn’t work out and for the equipment that just couldn’t be adapted for tractor use. In the case of the rake the tongue was extended and Grandpa could either use a rope from the dump handle to the tractor to release the hay or simply have one of his sons ride the rake to operate it.

Come Christmas I suspect this will go out in the living room, there’s just something about putting old toys out that time of year.

All in all I fell pretty blessed to be able to tell the kids the story of this stuff and eventually pass it on when the time comes.




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Sorry to hear this news Mike.. Condolences to all the family. I love the Tractor / Rake combo tho'.. I guess it's just the kid in me.

Mike, I'm very sad to hear your brother has passed. My thoughts and prayers go to you and your family. The pictures of your Grandfather with the old John Deere are really cool. It's amazing they had a camera and the fact the pic survived all these years. One of the places my friend farms is a 100 acre plot. The man that lives on the last remaining portion of the original farm is the 3rd generation of his family that lived there. I love hearing his stories of the progression of that farm. He grew up using horses and as well was around when tractors came to be. Their first tractor was a McCormick. I want to say he said the time to plow, and plant that 100acres went from 6-8 weeks to 4 weeks with the tractor. There aren't many folks left that can tell these stories.


I can relate to using horse drawn equipment behind tractors. My Dad has a few pieces of equipment that were horse drawn and we modified them to use behind a tractor in our garden when I was a kid. My Grandpa used them as a boy. Those are the only things left from his farming days. It's really sad.

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Sorry to hear about your brother, Mike. I've lost two of my older sisters in the last few years and it leaves a big void in your life for sure. Prayers heading your way, brother.

I'm sorry for your loss of your brother, and as you mentioned, happy that you got to visit while there was time to reminisce.

Sorry for your loss. What a wonderful legacy you shared with him.