He Repairs Old Farm Toys, Then Gives Them Away

He Repairs Old Farm Toys Then Gives Them Away AG WORLD John Blume gets more enjoyment out of the farm toys he fixes up and gives away than from the many toys in his collection In 2011 he gave 80 toy tractors and 50 toy wagons to needy children through the Operation Santa Claus chapter in Manchester Iowa He also donated larger higher value toys up to $300 to charity auctions and benefits for people with cancer The former Deere Dubuque Works employee had collected Deere toys and memorabilia for nearly four decades Without a good way to display them he sold them several years ago But he and his wife Joyce couldn’t resist picking up broken and discarded toys at flea markets and garage sales and Blume started fixing them up about five years ago He is fussy and thorough – taking them apart and preparing them with his industrial sandblaster If a plastic fender has a brown line he discards it and replaces it with a new one If someone brings him a tractor that needs a wheel he replaces it for free He buys any new parts necessary to make the finished tractor wagon combine or other type of toy look brand new He typically spends about $5 000 a year on parts and supplies “I like having part of my time in the items I donate ” Blume says He typically spends about 30 hours a week working on toys They vary in how much work they need “I have one here that looked like someone used the cab as a hammer ” Blume says adding he is a patient person “It took me over six hours to straighten it out ” Because of some arthritis in his hands Blume doesn’t work with the smallest scale toys He likes toys in 1/32-scale and up He isn’t fussy about the model People who hear about his work often donate toys to him to fix up Others hire him to fix their toys and he only charges enough to cover his costs But it’s the toys that go to children that drive Blume’s passion People from Operation Santa Claus tell him the children love the farm toys The charity is happy because his donated toys free up monetary donations they receive to buy winter clothing for the children The organization provides items to as many as 350 children each Christmas Contact: FARM SHOW Followup John Blume 38292 Osterdock Rd Colesburg Iowa 52035 ph 563 856-4002

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