2024 - Volume #48, Issue #5, Page #19
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Fun Grain Wagon Basketball Hoop
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Club member Ed Winkleman shared how this came about. “We had our spring auction in March, and this little old rusty wagon was at the auction. Club President Chuck Stelter and I got talking.”
They decided to create a fun basketball game for the kids attending the show. “I said we should paint it up,” Ed said about the rusty Ficklin wagon that he figured was from the late 1960s. The Ficklin Machine Shop was located in Onarga, Ill., and was owned by Roy and Steve Ficklin. The company sold to Toparte Inc. and filed for bankruptcy.
The Ficklin wagon was just the right size for their project. “I completed the painting,” Ed said, “then Chuck did the woodwork and framing for the basketball hoops.”
The wagon had been brought to be auctioned off until Ed and Chuck saved it. Ed said the wagon was obsolete for its original use. “Combines will hold more grain than one of those wagons today.”
Ed said, “The wagon had to be sanded down because it was just a bucket of rust. After sanding, I put on two coats of primer and two coats of orange paint. It took about a gallon and a half of paint. The primer also took almost 2 gal.”
“We made it so when you shoot in the wagon, the ball will roll down to the bottom down the chute, out, then back to the person shooting the baskets,” said Winkleman.
Ed said he got the idea from others he’d seen. “I’ve seen a few around, and I saw a couple of pictures, and that’s what got us going. Ours is a little nicer than some; we put a little more time in ours.”
The show was the third week in July. When asked about the time frame, Ed said, “The auction was the third week in March, and I started painting around the first of May. That took 2 weeks, then Chuck took it and started the framing for the basketball. We completed it about 3 weeks before the show.”
At Penfield, there’s an old school on the grounds. The school gym has a painting of their old Tiger mascot. Ed and Chuck had a professional draw the tiger and then turned the drawing into a decal for the wagon. They also put three stickers on the other sides that say “I & I Basketball Hoops.” Club members donated the six basketballs used during the show.
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