Nebraska Farms Build Salute To Stonehenge

Nebraska Farms Build Salute to Stonehenge AG WORLD Ag World 12-6-19 Drive two miles north of Alliance, Neb., on highway 385 and see a sight in the middle of a wheat field that you might not believe - 32 cars arranged in a circle to look like England's world famous Stonehenge monument which is thought to have been built by sun-worshipping natives in pre-historic times. The cars are laid out exactly the same as the stones at Stonehenge, except that they're at a different latitude so the sun strikes them at a different angle. The unusual rural exhibit was named "Carhenge" by James Reinders who erected the "work of art" on his farm in 1987 with the help of a number of relatives. Reinders, who lived in London from 1975 to 1981, has long been intrigued with Stonehenge. He says his family made "Carhenge" a family project, spending $10,000 in all. "I wanted to replicate Stonehenge on our farm but we didn't have stones as big as those in Stonehenge. We couldn't have moved them anyway. So we got the idea of using cars instead." The original Stonehenge consists of a series of vertical grey stones, some of them supporting horizontal stones. All of the stones are arranged in a 96-ft. dia. circle. Reinders also arranged his cars in a 96-ft. dia. circle. Most of them are in an upright position, buried 5 to 7 ft. in the ground. Five or six cars at the center of the circle are welded to the tops of pairs of upright cars. A forklift was used to lift the cars, which range from a 1957 Plymouth to a 1968 Cadillac ambulance. Once erected, a coat of "Stonehenge grey" paint was applied to the cars.

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