Hay Carrier Collection Out of the Ashes

By Jerry Mattson
Published on April 3, 2018
1 / 13
This unnamed carrier is an early addition to Emil's collection. He paid all of $15 for it.
This unnamed carrier is an early addition to Emil's collection. He paid all of $15 for it.
2 / 13
This display includes two Porters, a Louden S, a Louden and a Ney.
This display includes two Porters, a Louden S, a Louden and a Ney.
3 / 13
This Eagle is Jerry’s favorite hay carrier.
This Eagle is Jerry’s favorite hay carrier.
4 / 13
This Hudson was retrieved from Emil’s family farm.
This Hudson was retrieved from Emil’s family farm.
5 / 13
A King and a Clover Leaf.
A King and a Clover Leaf.
6 / 13
The Louden Junior picked from the ashes of his cousins’ barn fire.
The Louden Junior picked from the ashes of his cousins’ barn fire.
7 / 13
Emil and his Starline display.
Emil and his Starline display.
8 / 13
The dealer’s original paper tag is still attached to this NOS Hudson, the largest carrier in Emil’s collection.
The dealer’s original paper tag is still attached to this NOS Hudson, the largest carrier in Emil’s collection.
9 / 13
This unidentified carrier moves on a flat metal plate over a greased rail. It’s marked “Patent Applied for U.S.,” which could indicate a Canadian manufacturer.
This unidentified carrier moves on a flat metal plate over a greased rail. It’s marked “Patent Applied for U.S.,” which could indicate a Canadian manufacturer.
10 / 13
A Myers Sure Grip was a gift from Emil Hecksel’s daughter’s friend.
A Myers Sure Grip was a gift from Emil Hecksel’s daughter’s friend.
11 / 13
This Myers carrier (left) was a rusty $25 purchase. It is still missing its drop pulley, as is the Boomer.
This Myers carrier (left) was a rusty $25 purchase. It is still missing its drop pulley, as is the Boomer.
12 / 13
This display has all the elements of a working hay carrier.
This display has all the elements of a working hay carrier.
13 / 13
Emil’s only yellow carrier is a Porter product.
Emil’s only yellow carrier is a Porter product.

Oddly enough, it was a fire that launched Emil Hecksel’s collection of farm-related memorabilia. Emil, who lives in Coopersville, Michigan, has been collecting farm-related memorabilia for more than 40 years. His collection of hay carriers (or trolleys) began after a barn owned by his cousins, John and Dean Hecksel, burned down in 2008.

After the fire was put out, Emil was among the relatives and neighbors who helped clean up the mess. He found some pulleys in the rubble and was told to take them if he wanted them. Some had metal spools; others had wooden ones that were partially, or completely, burned away. 

The next day, a Louden Junior hay carrier was found. Emil’s cousins didn’t want it, but they also didn’t want to see it tossed into the dumpster. Emil wanted to prevent this bit of history from being lost, so he took it home. That was his first hay carrier. “I was on my way,” he says. Today his collection numbers 67 carriers.

A hay carrier with special ties

Soon after the fire, Emil remembered a carrier that had long hung in a barn on the farm where he’d grown up. About 30 years earlier, in 1977, the place had been sold.

Emil contacted the current owners of the farm and asked if they would sell the hay carrier to him, only to be told they’d have to think about it. A year passed before he contacted the owners again. That time, they would not sell it to him, they said, but since he’d grown up on the farm, they felt it should be his: It was his for the taking.

Online Store Logo
Need Help? Call 1-866-624-9388