“Picker” Story Prompts FARM SHOW Readers To Call

2016 - Volume #40, Issue #2, Page #06

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Aric Diehl is a “picker” who searches through barns and rural auctions to find “old stuff” that other people don’t want. His job got a lot easier after a story on him ran in FARM SHOW last year (Vol. 39, No. 3).
  “I’ve had more than a dozen good leads from readers,” says Diehl, who saw his first copy of FARM SHOW during one of his “picking” trips.
  Diehl recently bought a pallet of burlap bags from a reader in Kansas. The bags were intended for use with dry beans in the 1950’s.
  “They had the name Babe Ruth on them, without his permission,” explains Diehl. “His lawyers heard about them and got a cease and desist order, preventing their use. They sat there in a warehouse ever since.”
  Diehl plans to sell them at antique shows and via the internet.
  A Pennsylvania reader bought a barn containing more than 3,000 burlap bags. He contacted Diehl, who made the trip, bought the bags and was introduced to a neighbor.
  “He had old Winchester rifle posters and even a document signed by Lincoln,” says Diehl, who bought them too.
  Although he buys and sells almost anything, bags have been popular. In 2014, he bought and sold more than 5,500 bags. In 2015 he doubled that to more than 11,000.
  “I pulled 5,000 old seed corn bags out of one Ohio warehouse alone,” he says. “The father started a seed company in the 1930’s, and it stayed in business for 2 generations. There were old cloth bags, advertising signs, and other stuff getting damaged by weather and mice. It was 80 years of family history just sitting there, but now it will find a new life and get enjoyed.”
  Diehl enjoys learning about the things he finds. He stopped at a Ohio farm to check out a hay trolley he heard about. Not sure what it was, he bought it and asked the owner if he had any more.
  “He laughed and showed me a pallet full and I bought them,” recalls Diehl. “Then he showed me an old shed that had 200 of them in a pile. I ended up with 250 of them.”
  Diehl contacted hay trolley collector, Steve Weeber (Vol. 39, No. 4). Weeber helped him and a friend sort through the piles to separate the common from the less common.
  “In a week, I went from knowing nothing about hay trolleys to having bought and sold 250 of them,” says Diehl.
  Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Aric Diehl, 10765 Market St., Defiance, Ohio 43512 (ph 419 439-1328; rusticdiehls@gmail.com).

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“Picker” Story Prompts FARM SHOW Readers To Call SPECIALTY/SERVICES Aric Diehl is a “picker” who searches through barns and rural auctions to find “old stuff” that other people don’t want His job got a lot easier after a story on him ran in FARM SHOW last year Vol 39 No 3 “I’ve had more than a dozen good leads from readers ” says Diehl who saw his first copy of FARM SHOW during one of his “picking” trips Diehl recently bought a pallet of burlap bags from a reader in Kansas The bags were intended for use with dry beans in the 1950’s “They had the name Babe Ruth on them without his permission ” explains Diehl “His lawyers heard about them and got a cease and desist order preventing their use They sat there in a warehouse ever since ” Diehl plans to sell them at antique shows and via the internet A Pennsylvania reader bought a barn containing more than 3 000 burlap bags He contacted Diehl who made the trip bought the bags and was introduced to a neighbor “He had old Winchester rifle posters and even a document signed by Lincoln ” says Diehl who bought them too Although he buys and sells almost anything bags have been popular In 2014 he bought and sold more than 5 500 bags In 2015 he doubled that to more than 11 000 “I pulled 5 000 old seed corn bags out of one Ohio warehouse alone ” he says “The father started a seed company in the 1930’s and it stayed in business for 2 generations There were old cloth bags advertising signs and other stuff getting damaged by weather and mice It was 80 years of family history just sitting there but now it will find a new life and get enjoyed ” Diehl enjoys learning about the things he finds He stopped at a Ohio farm to check out a hay trolley he heard about Not sure what it was he bought it and asked the owner if he had any more “He laughed and showed me a pallet full and I bought them ” recalls Diehl “Then he showed me an old shed that had 200 of them in a pile I ended up with 250 of them ” Diehl contacted hay trolley collector Steve Weeber Vol 39 No 4 Weeber helped him and a friend sort through the piles to separate the common from the less common “In a week I went from knowing nothing about hay trolleys to having bought and sold 250 of them ” says Diehl Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Aric Diehl 10765 Market St Defiance Ohio 43512 ph 419 439-1328; rusticdiehls@gmail com

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