Have you ever heard of a horsedrawn “go-devil” corn cultivator? Not in Idaho, where I live, unless you came from the southeast part of the country. I was raised in Missouri and moved to Idaho in 1973 when my job took me there.
I heard my uncle tell about riding a “go-devil” in Missouri. I didn’t know what one looked like until I went back to Missouri this summer. Still knowing a lot of people there, I went to the local convenience store where a lot of my old friends meet for coffee. Outside the store, a go-devil was being used for a yard display. Not sure if it was one, I asked “is that a go-devil out there?” I asked a friend, Keith Rumpf, if he might know where I might find one. He said John Wolfe might have one. I called John and he said he might part with it. I had bought some farm collectibles from him in the past. I brought it home, sandblasted it and painted it. I belong to a hit-and-miss engine club and plan to display it at shows and fairs. A good friend of mine, P.T. Rathbone from Marsing, Idaho, took the picture.
Bill Shields,
825 West Orchard, Nampa, ID 83651
Editor’s note: Farm Collector Columnist Delbert Trew wrote about go-devils in the January 2006 issue of Farm Collector.
