About Me

I was born and raised near Tecumseh, Nebraska. Growing up on the farm is still one of the greatest treasures of my life! We didn't have much, but we made what we had work wonders! I only got to spend a short 10 years with my Father, but, being the youngest of 5, I spent a lot of that time with him. I like to think I retained at least SOME of his quaities, abilities and patterns!

After High School I enlisted in the United States Marine Corps, where I proudly served for 8 years. I was in the Air Wing, serving in several Heavy Helicopter (CH-53) and Headquarters Squadrons. It was my PRIVELEDGE to serve with some of the finest people I will ever know. SEMPER FI!

My wife, Deborah, and I were able to purchase 101 acres of the family farm. We moved in a 100 year old house (scrounged for free!) and live here with our Fur Children (three Mini - Dachshunds). Being disabled from the Corps, I have had to come up with new (and sometimes OLD) ways to do things around the farm. That is what this website is all about! I am always on the lookout for new ideas!

Being that some people have wondered about the nature of my disability - all I will say is that it includes knees, back, hips, artritis, and other physical problems. If you have questions COME TALK TO ME, and don't fall victim to those who spread rumors. Spreading a lie is worse than telling one. Get BOTH sides of the story before you climb the "Holier Than Thou" hill and pass judgement. If you listen to the uninformed and continue the lie without listening to both sides, then your opinion just doesn't matter.

If you would like to contact me, feel free to e-mail me at scrounger at scroungeman dot com.

***The following is moved from the homepage of the origional website, and I decided to put it here.

NECCESSITY IS THE MOTHER OF INVENTION!

We live in farm country, and both my wife and I grew up on farms. When we bought the farm we own, one of the biggest obstacles was finding the right equipment at a price that we could afford. I also love to "tinker" , and have a love of old tractors (especially Ford 8N and 861's), so I decided to put it all together! I began to scour the countryside for old, worn out implements and scrap iron. I began to drag home all manner of things, from horse drawn implements to old barn tin and bridge railings. One of the first items I built was a Tree Shear for the loader on my tractor. I couldn't afford to buy one, nor could I afford to hire the job done! I decided to BUILD ONE! It worked so well that I decided to build other things for use around the farm. I also picked up a few bargain items at farm sales that no one else wanted. These machines may have been to large for my tractor, but I figured on cutting them down to size. I even managed to scrounge enough wood and tin to build a 14' x 14' Chicken House and a 15' x 32' Tractor Shed! I came up with enough items that I spent a TOTAL of $3 on the Chicken House and a TOTAL of $35 on the Tractor Shed! Now, neither one will win a beauty pageant, but they are functional, and that is all that matters! I will get into the story of the Chicken Coop and Tractor shed a little later on, and will publish a guide book on how I built them cheaply. I do know that the cost would have been CONSIDERABLY higher if I had not scrounged used materials! Remember that just because it is old, and may even be worn out, it doesn't mean that it's usefulness is over! You may be able to find a use for something that is TOTALLY different than what it started out as.