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His antique collection involves more than just finding and storing pieces of the past. For Ralph, it also involves restoration. He has 12 walk-behind tractors, some dating to the 1920s, all of which run.
"I get all the motors to run," he said. "Some of them are frozen up when I get them, but I try to restore them."
Ralph has restored several small, water-cooled gasoline engines. He paints them their original color.
One engine he keeps running has special memories for him. It is the engine that powers a 1930 Ford Model A pickup.
"That's the automobile I learned to drive in," he said. "It's all original, oogah horn and all."
Ralph has a German tape measure and a German flashlight that were acquired by a friend during World War II. For the flashlight to work, a lever connected to a small generator must be pumped by hand.
"I don't see how you could see much with it," he said while pumping the handle.
Although Ralph doesn't know the stories behind most of his uncountable antique pieces, he and friends have researched a few. One is a homemade fiddle for which he traded a few years ago.
"There's a yellow tag inside that says 'Walter Wilson, Nov. 8, 1902.' I found out that he owned a store around Burnt House, W.Va., in 1902. I found that his grandchildren owned Wilson's IGA in Parkersburg."