MUSEUM cont’d from page 29
One of the larger pieces at the museum is this manure trough from the Louden Machinery Co. of Fairfield, Iowa. They were used years ago to clean out manure from barns, a method preferable to scooping it out with a shovel. “My dad always said, if you were a rich farmer, you had one of these,” Lee said.
Although Lee has been around farms and barns his entire life, he still comes across tools and trinkets that he hasn’t laid eyes on before. That’s when his detective skills kick in. He’ll take the time to track down information and learn more about a piece and find out what it was used for. Take for example all the wrenches that line his walls, big and small, curved and straight. Decades ago, farmers didn’t just break out a socket set to bust a bolt loose; there were different wrenches for different jobs. “Sometimes I have some things that I’m not 100 percent certain what they are, and then someone will know what they were used for,” Lee said. “A lot of people will ask questions about what they were and why they were used.” Wrenches aren’t the only tools on display: The barns also houses axes, soldering irons, clevises, hacksaws, tile spacers, branding irons, pitch forks, hay hooks, froggers, hinges, fence stretchers, steel tractor seats, gardening tools, thermometers, post pounders and more ± lots more. The Hinrichs’ find the tools as-is and then take time to clean the rust off of them without damaging the item. Corn knives also are part of the vast collection. One of them has a steel handle on it, and when Lee found it, it rekindled childhood memories. “We broke so many different corn knife handles that my dad started putting steel handles on them so we wouldn’t break them,” Lee said. “We found one at an auction recently, and I had to get it. It just had to come home with me.” Elsewhere, shovels of various sizes are lined up along one wall, including one used by phone and electric companies to install poles (see photo on page 15). “I had someone from Commonwealth Edison come in one day and told me if they put a pole in that was 100 feet tall, it had to be 12 feet in the ground,” Lee said. “I can’t imagine digging 12 feet down by hand. The first couple of feet ain’t bad, but after that it gets pretty rough.”
Save the Dates!
Upcoming Events at Deja Vu March: Purse-pa-luzza March 29th: National Mom and Pop Day
MUSEUM cont’d to page 31
YOUR GRASSHOPPER
SERVICE DESTINATION.
November 16th - 19th: Déjà vu Holiday Open House
March 31st - April 1st: Consignment Crawl, November 22nd: Déjà Vu Closes at 2 pm Resale Tour and Retail Shopping Spree Thanksgiving: Closed April: Wine Walk to be announced November 24th: Black Friday Sale Memorial Day: Closed June 8th - 10th: Tailgates & Tallboys July 4th: Closed August 17th: National Thrift Shopping Day August 18th - 31st: Déjà Vu’s 14th Anniversary Sale
November 25th: Shop Small Saturday November 26th: Open 11-4 December 1st: Tree Lighting? December 3rd: Open 11-4 December 10th: Open 11-4
August 25th: National Second-Hand Wardrobe Day
December 15th - 23rd: Dude & Dudettes Sale
Sept 26th - 28th: Déjà vu – Closed
December 17th: Open 11-4
Sept 29th & 30th: Christmas Preview Sale
December 23rd: Open 10-3
October 2nd: Celebrate National Consignment Day
Christmas Eve: Closed
Adult Halloween Wine Walk: Date to be Announced (October 19th?)
Christmas: Closed
October 27th: Downtown Trick or Treat
December 26-30: Get Rid of Sh** from Christmas Sale
October 30th: Marti Grau’s Parade
New Year Eve: Closed
November 6th: Christmas Village Up
New Year Day: Closed
Grasshopper zero-turn mowersare built to last, but when service is needed, we can help. With a full lineof repair and tune-up services, OEM parts and more, we’re standing by to help keep your mower in peak condition. PEABUDY’S 2900 Polo Rd Sterling, IL 61081 www.peabudysinc.com 815-626-4600
Deja Vu Furniture & Accessories 101 Fifth Ave. S., Clinton, IA 52732 563-242-3356 www.dejavuclinton.com • Find us on
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30 | A Shaw Media Publication | Small Town Living West | Spring 2023