By JoAnn Biren
Murray County News Staffwriter
If an adult had asked Ryley Thraen two and one-half years ago a question about a Ford tractor from his great-grandfather’s era he might have been able to answer the question, but he would have hesitated. He didn’t like talking to adults much. He was a quiet youngster, more comfortable at home with his brother; certainly not dickering with adults older than his parents on a piece of farm equipment on the phone, via computer or in person.
What changed him into a youngster who is animated when talking about an old tractor, or his pride and joy, a Dearborn Wood Bros. combine?
By the way, it is a sweet machine! No wonder he is exuberant in his description and anxious to have anyone who expresses an interest lured to the machine shed to look at the red beauty. “I’d say this is rare,” he said of the machine with just a tad bit of pride coming through in his conversation.
Ryley had placed an ad on Craig’s List for the combine. It didn’t take long before he had a response and it wasn’t that far away from Iona, in Battle Lake, Minnesota. And the condition? He couldn’t be happier. “It’s in good shape, hasn’t seen much wear. It still has the red paint! It has Dearborn Wood Bros on it too! I’m not going to restore, it doesn’t need it; I’m just going to get it in running order again.”
Once out in the grainary to show off his newest project, Ryley pulls out a rusted, small typewriter table, this too is from another era and it holds a number of small cans. Inside the cans are nuts and bolts and other paraphernalia that has come off the combine. Each can has a little piece of paper inside that Ryley has made a note on, a reference for what the can contains.
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