Little Guy Factory Tour and More

[down under tech]

Hello Everyone: My wife and I were on a mini-vacation last week. We went back east to see my father for his 78th birthday in the town where I was born and raised. He lives in an original pioneer home that started out as a log cabin. It is listed on the historical society site as over 150 years old. It was added onto over the years to what it is now. It was great to go back and see family again. I have two sisters that live in Reno that went back to be at the birthday celebration a couple of days before we arrived. One of my sisters still lives in Ohio, so all of us kids were there at the same time. We even camped out (in a tent) in the back yard one night. We had a big camp fire and we made Wall-Dingers over the fire. Who knows what that is? One day Terry and I went to Sugarcreek to the place where they build the Little Guy and Silver Shadow Teardrop trailers. They just started to build the T@b travel trailers as well. It was fun to see where they turn out about 14 TDs and about 7 T@bs a week. We went to the "Simply Smuckers" store in Orrville, Ohio, my home town. We stopped at Lehman's Hardware in Kidron. They sell all kinds of gizmos and gadgets there. The amish don't use electricity and there are all kinds of hand powered tools for sale there. It was so cool going through the store.
I took a few pictures to share.



This is the TD line with both Little Guys and Silver Shadows



This is the T@b build line.



The galley of a Silver Shadow. I like the bread box. The door knob is the wheel.



Finished Little Guys and Silver Shadows.



A couple of T@bs.



Employee parking garage.



Watch out for road apples.



This is the way they used to advertise. It still works today.



The Simply Smucker's Store.



My wife Terry in the chair and my sisters in the rear, (L to R); Robin, Karon and Becky.


Lehman's Hardware and an old 57 Chevy pick-up truck.



Here is an old steam tractor parked in the rear lot. Notice the steel wheels.



Terry and I were out for a joy ride in an amish buggy. No speeding tickets here...

[Ratkity]

Wonderful photos! Thanks for sharing. It looks like you had a great time.. you went to ALL the places I'd have hit *tries not to be jealous*

Hugs,
Ratkity

[CarlLaFong]

Small correction. The Tractor is a Rumley OilPull. It is not a steam tractor. It is an internal combustion engine that runs on kerosene. Very cool nonetheless

[absolutsnwbrdr]

Thanks for sharing. Looks like a fun vacation! Neat to see the Little Guy factory too!

[SteveF]

Love that employee parking! Wish I had covered parking for my commuter bike...

[kirkman]

Nice thanks.

[down under tech]

Ratkity: It was fun. If you get into Ohio, theses are some places to see.

CarlLaFong: Thanks for setting me straight. I did not read the sign there. I guess that would explain the OilPull on the front of it.

Zach: I had a blast at the teardrop factory, that is for sure.

SteveF: I got a kick out of it too. That is how the amish get around if they don't have a horse and buggy.

kirkman: Thank you...

[mezmo]

Hi down under tech/johnny D.,

Thanks for the pics.

We used to live in Akron, OH and usually made one trip [@45-50miles
one way] down into the Ohio Amish country each month. A nice drive
and the countryside down there with all the Amish farms is quite
picturesque - gives a glimpse at what the whole countryside must have
looked like at the turn of the 20th century.

That Smuckers store is new since we were last in that area, we had
gone to whatever was there before. The flea market they have in
Berlin is quite nice too. Some of the area was getting a bit "touristy"
but it was still a nice area to take a day trip to.

Lehman's is an absolutely great store. It's an old-fashioned hardware
with a lot of old-fashioned items still carried since they still work and
the Amish still utilize them. They also sell by the internet and by
catalogue. They carry many, many items that can used for camping.
Very good quality merchandise and top-notch customer service. Here's
a link:

http://www.lehmans.com/

Cheers,
Norm/mezmo

[asianflava]

Nice pics! He he I missed the wadinger making class at IRG though.