Hay Carriers, Pulleys Fill Unique Museum
(Page 2 of 3)
May 2009
Loretta Sorensen
Other collectors also fill in the gaps, but they compose a fairly small group. “There aren’t a lot of collectors out there,” Doug says, “maybe 40 to 75 who are serious.” He hopes to pull that community even closer together: This winter he began a newsletter for hay tool collectors. The newsletter is available by e-mail only; eventually, he hopes to make that information available online as well.
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Flea market find
Doug’s collection was launched seven years ago in a flea market, where he found his first pulley. “The friend who was with me that day decided to buy that first one for me,” he says. “By the time I left the flea market, I was hauling about 18 of them around.”
Today, his collection includes about 90 unique hay carriers and several hundred pulleys. They range from the small to the enormous, like a wood pulley that measures 5 feet across. Salvaged from the water plant in Grinnell, Iowa, “it was still being used when it broke in 2003,” Doug says. “It ended up on the Internet and the guy who owned it was just about ready to burn it as trash when I came across it.”
Rare pieces include carriers designed for use on wooden beams. “They had a slider that worked without wheels,” Doug says. Steel-track carriers were developed in the 1890s. They were generally smaller, lighter and easier to return to position.
New acquisitions come from other collectors, auctions and flea markets. “Not too long ago, I waited all day to get a carrier at an auction,” he recalls. “It was mixed in with a pile of junk and if anyone else knew what it was, they didn’t have any interest in it. On the first round, the pile of junk brought $300. I was puzzled about who was bidding and what they wanted out of that pile. Turns out there were some original International Harvester fenders in the pile. The guy who bid it up took the fenders and they started bidding on the pile again. I got the carrier for $10.”
Restoration of pieces in Doug’s collection runs the gamut. Some need little more than cleaning; others are sandblasted and painted with detailed lettering. He’s also picked up other hay tools, like an 1890s vintage hay press, scythes and forks.
Expansion program
This year, Doug plans construction of a second building, expanding display of his collection. The new 16-by-20-foot building will house approximately 400 carriers and several hundred barn pulleys, as well as hay forks and other hay equipment. “I have at least 5,000 pounds in carriers and pulleys in here now,” he says. Visitors are astounded. “Most people have no idea there were so many different types of hay carriers and pulleys,” he says.