Memory Boxes Capture Life On The Farm

Memory Boxes Capture Life On The Farm AG WORLD Longtime FARM SHOW reader Dave Olson is likely to run out of wall space before he runs out of ideas for the rural scenes he commemorates in what he calls “memory boxes” The 83-year-old retired Wisconsin dairy farmer and repair shop owner loves creating farm scenes from his childhood in miniature So far he has made nine scenes inside 10-in deep 24 by 10-in wood frames lit by LED lights Olson finds magazine pictures or photos to use as a backdrop then cuts horses and equipment out of 3/8-in wood on his scroll saw and other tools “I wear glasses to help see the fine stuff and use surgical tweezers to put the small pieces on machines ” Olson says He focuses on farming practices from the 1930’s and 40’s that he witnessed as a boy His favorite scene is a horse-drawn hay wagon Other memory boxes show hauling grain from a threshing machine a young Olson sitting on a horse as his grandfather cultivated a garden and the farm he grew up on in Forest Wis Olson’s scenes have progressed from horses to tractors The wood Farmall H tractor he made sets the scene for cutting firewood Another recent box features a corn binder Though he likely won’t run out of ideas space may become an issue “I have one wall covered and part of another wall filled ” he says Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Dave Olson 410 Harriman Ave S Apt 103 Amery Wis 54001 ph 715 268-6652; daves-sales@amerytel net

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