When local resident Gerald Eckland set to work on Jean Paulson's 120 year old potato planter it certainly didn't look like it does today.
According to Eckland the circa 1890 potato planting machine, which he thinks is a Eureka model, was rusted, the parts were ceased up and nothing worked. "Only the wheels turned," he said.
The two horse drawn potato planter was purchased by Paulson's father Dick Carroll in the 1930's from the Fraser Valley.
"Dad was in the potato business, selling potatoes," Paulson said.
Bob Saul, neighbour and family friend said that Carroll was a generous man who would always give away more potatoes than he sold.
"Dick Carroll was one of the original pioneers in the area and he owned most of the land where the 亚洲天堂 Lake town sits today," Saul said.
The potato planter was used by the Paulson family until about 10 years ago. It sat in disrepair on the farm until Eckland decided it should be repaired.
This was not Eckland's first foray into machine repairs as he has previously restored at least six tractors and before he delved into the world of denture making he was a machinist.
"I still have my machinists ticket and a machine shop," he said.
He went on to say that he had never seen a potato planter like it.
After some internet research and a lot of hours just sitting and looking at the machine and determining how it worked, Eckland began restoring it back to its original form and its original colour.
"I couldn't tell you how many hours it took to restore, it was a lot. A lot of sanding and sand blasting, welding, grinding and making new gears," he said. "I think this is the colour [dark red and black] it was originally, or pretty close to it," he added.
The drive chains were broken and Eckland also had to rebuild the gear teeth.
"These machines were made for fields and it is quite rocky around here," said Eckland adding that the rocky ground eventually took its toll on the machine.
The one man and two horse drawn machine both distributes fertilizer and plants potatoes.
Seed potatoes are fed through a bucket in the top of the machine, shaken down onto a spinner then planted down in the soil.
The farmer sits on a seat at the rear of the machine with his or her feet in the stirrups and the two horses draw the machine across the field.
"Gerald has done lots of work on it, it's better now than when we got it from the Fraser Valley," Paulson said with a smile.
"Dad bought it and when they sent it up from the Fraser Valley it made all the difference in the world. It made life so much easier," 85 year old Paulson said.
Both Paulson and her late husband Charlie also used the potato planter on the farm. "I was raised on this farm," she said.
Paulson's son Chris [Paulson] said that he and Jean would like to try out the planter once but is reluctant to due to the rocky ground. He added that the family will put the potato planter in the Lakes District Museum.
"It would be nice to have it somewhere where everyone can see it," Jean said.
