Iron Man

There's been some iron man stuff going on at the farm lately. Nope, Randy and Jake aren't training for an iron man triathlon. But they have been building up some muscle as they've cleared the farmstead of scrap iron.

Randy says he feels a bit like an archeologist as he's uncovered equipment from the past. They've taken six full loads of detritus to a scrap iron business in Great Bend and have at least one more load to go.

It's given the guys something to do this winter. It's cleaned up the farmstead. It's provided a little extra cash. And it's been a trip down memory lane for Randy.

The pile has been growing since 1976. His parents built their new home as America celebrated its bicentennial. They built it on the spot that had been the scrap iron pile, so Randy was in on the first cleanup 35 years ago.

This time around, he's found parts of old equipment that his Dad and Grandpa Fritzemeier owned together. He's found parts for an old Massey-Ferguson combine and remnants of an Allis-Chalmers model. There have been V-blades and disc blades and old sickles and old feeders.

Even on chilly winter days, he's remembered the heat of summer as he looked at the parts and pieces of equipment he had to help repair as the thermometer's mercury inched upwards.

He's still trying to figure out how to get this one-way unearthed from the tentacles of the trees that have grown through it. Any ideas?