By BEN KLEINE

Staff writer

The contents of Bud Radtke’s shed in rural Marion look like an indiscernible swath of rusted metal.

Items flow along the walls, bumping into one another. Radtke has been collecting tools and machines for 30 years; some items were acquired in Radtke’s youth about 50 years ago.

“People think it is just junk and an eye-sore,” Radtke said.

When examined more closely, the tools, tractors, engines, and other farm equipment are clearly mini collections inside a larger whole. At close range, the details and history of the items is evident. To Radtke, the collection has historical significance and he would like to see it continue.

On one of his walls, Radtke has hammers and axes. The several sizes of the common hammer, are joined by mallets and smaller hammers with elongated pick ends.

“Each one of those had a use,” Radtke said.

To Radtke, hammers are a reminder of the disposable nature of modern society. Once an essential tool, Radtke feels that hammers are being replaced by nail guns and other high-powered equipment.

“A hammer is almost a thing of the past,” he said.

History is one of the driving forces behind Radtke’s collection. Old tools are examples of the simple but more labor-intensive lives that people once lived.

Radtke grew up on a farm, he continues to farm in a semi-retired basis, and farm life is the basis for his collection. While always industrious and independent, farmers of the past had to be more versed in repairs and other tasks because of difficulty reaching people over distances.

Radtke’s collection shows the development of new technology over the past 100 years and how it has made people’s lives easier. Radtke has several horse-drawn planters and plows but also has old tractors.

One of Radtke’s concerns about people in general is a lack of interest in what previous generations had to do to survive.

“There’s folks that don’t want to think about the past,” Radtke said.

Another set of items from the past is Radtke’s collection of wagon plates. The metal plates would go over the end of a 2x4 underneath a wagon. Radtke has plates of all different sizes and brands.

The plates are an example of the peculiarity of some of Radtke’s collections; he prides himself on collecting unique items.

Beneath the plates handing on the wall, he has a collection of two-inch long threshing machine parts. To the right of those collections, is a case of spark plugs.

“Not everybody (collects spark plugs). Somebody has to,” he said.

Radtke is not alone as a collector of old tools. There is a faction of collectors who will pay hundreds even thousands of dollars for the right tool or machine.

However, many collectors are very specialized. Some collectors only want John Deere wrenches. Radtke was never interested in specializing his collection; everything that once had a use interests him.

“I just always liked a variety,” he said.

Radtke has multiple collections of wrenches. One is a display of John Deere and International wrenches. Each wrench was designed to used on a corresponding machine. Some International wrenches date back to eras when farmers relied on horse-drawn equipment.

Although there are collectors who would pay handsomely to bolster their collections with those tools, Radtke said he is not interested in selling. He will sell things from time to time, but said that he is still collecting.

“I might decide to have an auction and sell everything one day,” he said.

Radtke said he has acquired most of his items from auctions and garage sales. On Aug. 31, he went to a toy auction in Hillsboro and picked up a couple more things.

At another recent auction, he picked up a cast iron tank heater that ranchers would use to heat water for cattle in the winter.

“If you don’t want to collect this stuff, you should stay away from auctions or garage sales,” he said.

Radtke did not acquire everything that way. In one corner of his shed, he has a selection of branding irons. Most of those irons he bought after ranchers died or the ranch went out of business.

Near the irons, Radtke has a collection of blacksmith tools. The blacksmith tongs date back to the late 19th century, when blacksmiths were common.

Radtke hopes collectors of unique items are not going the way of the blacksmiths. Although he is only 61 years old, he noted that when collectors from Goessel died their collections died with them.

Radtke’s two sons are not interested in continuing the collection, but his son-in-law, Aaron Helmer, has shown some interest. Helmer, who works at Lang Diesel Incorporated in Hillsboro, has helped Radtke fix a Maytag engine. He also purchased a few items with Radtke.

Radtke has been recruiting Helmer to help him fix more engines. Helmer said the two of them have not talked in length about Helmer taking over the collection.

“I haven’t done a whole lot of tinkering. I’ve got enough stuff going,” he said. “All of his stuff has to go somewhere. If I end up with it, I’ll probably get it running.”

And there is always the next generation. While Radtke’s two granddaughters and Aaron’s son, Wyatt, are still too young to show a real interest, they like to ride the tractors.

Radtke realizes collecting is not for everyone. He has poured hours into fixing engines and tractors and thousands of dollars into buying the items.

He travels to shows, some as far away as Cedar Rapids, Iowa or Rollog, Minn.

“You have to get your heart into,” Radtke said.