To the unknowing eye, it looks just like any other farm wagon.
To those in the know, however, the latest addition to the equipment used at the Lebanon Valley Exposition Center & Fairgrounds is a symbol.
A symbol of what happens when the community comes together to give new life to a piece of equipment that appears destined for the scrap heap.
Before the 2023-24 school year ended earlier this year, nine ELCO FFA students repaired, refurbished and repainted a model No. 15 New Holland wagon built in the 1960s. The wagon was donated to the Lebanon County 4-H Poultry Club to store equipment and for other uses at the fairgrounds.
Lebanon Area Fair volunteer Dana Lape said he is frustrated when hears people say no one wants to volunteer, since that generalization doesn’t apply to individuals who make the fair and other ag-based projects in the Lebanon Valley possible.
He said the wagon symbolizes what happens when the community collaborates for the common good. Lape is also the adult leader for the local youth poultry program.
Wesley Doll, a 2024 ELCO graduate who is studying agricultural extension education at Penn State, worked on the project along with former classmates for approximately 60 hours.
“I think when people think about the fair and 4-H, they think of it as a community project, that members of the community invest in these projects,” said Doll. “That just goes to show here. Our fair and our 4-H needed something that they didn’t necessarily have the skills or the time or the energy to produce, but there were others who had the ability and who could in different capacities.”
Enter the nine FFA students from ELCO School District.
“We were willing to supply the manpower and the place to do it,” added Doll. “It just goes to show that if there is a community project that is important to people like 4-H and the fair, then people are willing to invest in whatever capacity they can.”
Community spirit extended beyond the student’s involvement in the project.
Wengers of Myerstown supplied the wagon, Richland-based Rigidply Rafters donated the lumber, and Dutch Country Ace Hardware of Myerstown and Mount Joy-based Messick’s contributed supplies to make the renovation project a reality.
Agricultural science teacher and FFA advisor Madison Hetrick wrote in an email to LebTown that the project had many positive outcomes.
“They (the students) all did a fantastic job working together to overcome the challenges they faced while learning and growing their skillset from welding, to painting, to woodworking, and replacing tires,” wrote Hetrick. “The project was one that the community came together to complete, which is one of the best things about the project along with the educational aspects.”
Doll noted that this project was a collaborative effort.
“One thing I liked about the project was that everyone had to help with it every step of the way,” he said. “There were definitely some who knew more about it and they took on a leadership role, but everyone helped during every step along the way, and that was pretty cool.”
Doll said he appreciated how the project demonstrated conservation practices in action.
“We always talk about conservation and how we can always reuse old things, make new out of old instead of living in a throw-away society,” said Doll. “We always talk about that but we don’t always get to practice it or we don’t always practice it. I think with a project like this that we can use our time and energy into restoring something that was forgotten and unusable into something that’s usable is better than going out and purchasing something to fill a need. It also shows that we were willing to invest our efforts into making new what was old.”
Hetrick described the renovation process and the students’ labor of love to restore the wagon.
“Students cleaned the wagon by using grinders with wire wheels to prep the surface for painting. They welded cracks on the frame, and then began to paint. Students then replaced the tires on the wagon. After the painting and tire replacement was finished, students built the deck on the frame,” wrote Hetrick.
Doll noted that wire wheeling, which stripped the wagon of grime and its old paint, was the hardest job that took days to accomplish. Once that was finished, the project really began to take off.
Hetrick said she is grateful to those entities outside of the school who made the project possible.
“We would like to thank the Lebanon County Poultry 4-H club for the opportunity for our students to learn throughout this project. Also, a huge thank you to Wengers of Myerstown for donating the wagon, Rigidply for donating the lumber, and Messick’s for donating the paint and tires,” she wrote.
Glenn Wenger of Wengers of Myerstown said his brother Dave purchased the wagon at an antique-style auction at a York County farm, adding his sibling felt the wagon was a perfect project for the students to rebuild.
Wenger said his family has a long history of involvement in FFA and 4-H, adding that both programs are exceptional experiences for youths that his family believes deserve their full support.
“As a company and as a family, we’re extremely supportive of FFA and 4-H programs,” said Wenger. “We believe they do a tremendous amount of good in the community in developing agricultural youth. Agriculture anymore is a pretty broad term in these organizations, but they develop leadership skills that these kids need going forward. They are the best organizations we know that support the development of youth.”
FFA involvement in the Wenger family extends for generations.
“My father was a FFA member back in the late ’40s and early ’50s, I have three brothers and myself who were FFA members and various nieces and nephews in the next generation that were FFA members, so we’re strong supporters and believers in that organization,” said Wenger, who added he could go on supplying many superlatives about both organizations.
Doll said he and his fellow students are glad to have been part of this project.
“It always feels good to give back and to give your time and your skills that you have to someone or something that doesn’t have either that time or those skills,” said Doll. “I think that’s something that we can all take from FFA. It definitely feels good to give back to those who can’t supply – what we can – themselves.”
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