Inventions

Always making something. We knew that one way to make extra bucks was to cut and sell wood, but that meant sawing by hand with a big cross cut saw. We knew there was something that they called a drag saw - it's got a motor that ran a chain on an arm on the log, so you could saw quicker, however it cost money to buy it and the gas needed.

Donald and I made one from a couple of poles and a crank from a Model-T Ford and an old saw blade. You'd have to crank it and the saw would move. There were actually inventions and patents I found for saws like that. One day we had that thing up and ready to cut and my Uncle Matt drove in with my Aunt Polly and marveled at our inventiveness. He said, "Who made that?" I didn't want to admit it because I thought he'd make fun of us. I said, "Donald did!" Donald said, "Norman did!" But Uncle Matt said that he wanted to take it down to the fair to exhibit it as a unique invention. We didn't think much of that, as it was just a crude invention, so he didn't take it.