Alberta man continues to restore farm equipment – despite vision loss

Nov 01, 2017

Don Skretting recently sold parts of his collection at auction

By Diego Flammini
News Reporter
Farms.com

Don Skretting, a 67-year-old farm machinery enthusiast from Enchant, Alta., started collecting mostly John Deere equipment when he was 16.

What sets this collector apart from most of his colleagues, however, is the fact that he began losing his sight around the age of 20. He’s been legally blind for 40 years and totally blind for the last 10 years.

But he doesn’t let that stop him from restoring farm equipment.

Skretting’s sense of touch is so sensitive that his lack of vision doesn’t matter, he said.

“Basically the only things I can’t do is paint the equipment or do any of the really fine work,” he told Farms.com today. “If someone hands me something, I can tell them almost immediately what it is. It’s almost like I’m seeing the object once my fingers touch it.”

Skretting’s timeline to complete restorations varies.

“I may start one (project) and finish three more before the original (one) is finished,” he said. “I try to start with machinery that isn’t in terrible shape. Right now I’m working on a horse-powered drilling rig.”

After 50 years of collecting and restoring equipment, Skretting is allowing others to enjoy his work.

He sold about 400 pieces from his collection, including horse-drawn equipment and John Deere tractors, at auction on Saturday.

Parting with items he restored wasn’t an issue, Skretting said, but there were some cases when he felt items should have sold for a higher price.

“What bothered me is if something I put a lot of work into didn’t bring in that much money,” he said. “But that’s how the auction game goes sometimes.”

If the machinery ends up somewhere it can be appreciated and cared for, that’s all that really matters, Skretting said.

“I know some of the items went to good homes,” he said. “One guy’s family has been on a farm since 1883 and he has a little museum. Now that piece will be in the family museum for a long time.”

Top photo: This John Deere 520 tractor was among those from Don Skretting's collection sold at auction.

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