In 1970 Ron Franklin, along with his father Harry
Franklin and his uncle Cecil Brown, built a new corn crib. Like
most farmers, the Franklin family was innovative, finding ways to repair and
build everything on the farm in an economical way that often included recycled materials. Cecil was a welder, building combine harvesters for Cockshutt Farm Equipment Ltd in Brantford, Ontario. He bought, from the Cockshutt
factory, a large quantity of scrap combine reels that consisted of long pipes
connected by round hubs.
They
designed an open drive shed, for machinery storage, with corn crib walls around
three sides. The pipe from the combine reels
was cut in lengths and welded in place for uprights and rafters. While covering the sides of the crib with
wire, it became obvious that covering the peaked ends was going to be difficult. They decided to use the leftover round hubs (cut from the pipe shafts) to
fill the space, each one welded in place. The corn crib sits empty this fall for the
first time in 42 years. Corn prices are high, so this year’s crop has
gone straight to market.
Text by Chris Scrivener of Brant County
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