Jim Kennedy shows an old mechanical calculator kept in the shop built in 2010 to store farm antiques on his Middlesex Township property.

MIDDLESEX TWP — Jim Kennedy is known as a farmer and Butler County commissioner.

But he's spending his free time as an agricultural historian.

Kennedy has amassed a collection of antiques at his farm, with items ranging from tractors and yokes to lesser known relics like sauerkraut cutters and fence stretchers.

“I try to put a piece of history together,” Kennedy said.

Most of the antiques come from farms in the county.

Among the rarer tools displayed in Kennedy's shop is a turtle catcher, which has two metal jaws at the end of long handles.

Kennedy said the catcher enabled farmers to snatch a turtle hiding in a hard-to-reach place without getting their fingers bitten. The jaws clamp onto the turtle's shell so it can be pulled out safely.“Turtle soup on the menu,” Kennedy said.One of the larger tools displayed is a grain cutter with several blades.“The grain falls on the cradle then dumps into a pile,” Kennedy said.He also has a variety of butter churns, including a wooden device that is pushed back and forth to agitate the cream.Sitting outside the shop is a garden cultivator dating back to the 1940s — one of only 5,000 made.Kennedy's collection of 18 Oliver tractors is spread out among his family's various farms.He said Oliver tractors are rarer than more well-known brands.Among the smaller collectibles are hand and wrist corn huskers. Kennedy said the contrivances demonstrate what farmers had to go through before technological advancements occurred.“You can't believe these things were done,” he said.

Kennedy pointed to many of the relics as examples of how need leads to innovation.“The mother of new inventions,” he said. “This is what they did to survive. It was the way life was then.”An example of this was when baby chickens kept getting stuck in feeders.A farmer devised a metal tray with perforations, so chicks could reach the food without being able to squeeze inside the feeder.Kennedy has two types of these trays, which look like they were designed to hold eggs, hanging on a wall.Smaller items are kept in a display case. Among these collectibles is a set of handmade miniature furniture.“That had to be a master carver,” he said about the person who crafted the antiques.Kennedy doesn't recall exactly when he started saving antiques, just that he was always interested in the history of agriculture.

He has lost count of how many items he has in his collection, but estimates the number to be in the hundreds.Kennedy's shop was built in early 2010. He moved his collection from his basement to the new building.Leaving room to repair and restore equipment, he adorned the walls and floor space.“I didn't know I had this much stuff,” he said. “It was a treat to see it go together.”The shop also has a sampling of antiques unrelated to farming.A long wooden sled, which reaches the ceiling while standing on its end, was made to seat several people at one time.Hanging farther down the wall from the sled are two bayonets from the 1800s.Sitting on the floor is a tandem bicycle from the 1930s. When Kennedy asked his neighbor to sell the bike, the man refused.One day, the neighbor's barn collapsed. He told Kennedy the bike was his if he dug it out of the ruins.Sporting a red-and-white paint job, the bike is rusted and in need of repair.“I'll get time to put it together,” Kennedy said.He may have that time after retiring as commissioner at the end of the year.To commemorate his political career and that of his late father, former state Rep. H. Francis Kennedy, campaign signs hang near the shop entrance.Kennedy never is quite sure what he may end up with when he goes to auctions.After buying a large antique wooden box, he cut off the lock and found an alcohol still from the Prohibition years.“It's just a real joy to me,” Kennedy said of his hobby.

His passion is evident when he gives visitors a tour of the shop.Kennedy demonstrates how a milk tester was used. A device holding several glass tubes in metal pods, the tester spins the milk.The addition of sulphuric acid to the liquid enabled farmers to determine the milk's fat content.The shop also has grape crushers, grinders, scales and grain seeders. There is even a mechanical calculator shaped like a dime-store cash register.Kennedy joked county Controller Jack McMillin should give the antiquated calculator a try.“If Jack had this thing, just think what he could do,” Kennedy said.Kennedy credits his wife, Rita, for letting him indulge his passion.There is a drawback to having a growing collection of farm memorabilia, though.“Everybody wants to sell me a tractor,” he said.<br></br><br></br>

<br></br><br></br><br></br><br></br><br></br><br></br>

<br></br><br></br><br></br><br></br><br></br>

Jim Kennedy is never quite sure what he maycome up with when he goes to auctions. He foundthis old alcohol brewing still in a large, locked,wooden box he had purchased.

This 1930s egg scale holds the proverbial marble “nest egg.” Farmers placed such eggs in a nest to try and fool the hen into laying.

A 1946 Oliver Model 60 tractor. Oliver was acquired by White Motor Corp. in 1960. Production of Oliver tractors ceased in the mid-1960s.

Jim Kennedy of Middlesex Township, a farmer and Butler County commissioner, shows off the old farm implements and other antiques he keeps in his shop. Kennedy said most of the antiques came from farms in Butler County.

This antique hand-operated butter churn hearkensto a time long before automation became a part ofAmerican life.

A circa-1940s farm cultivator. It's one of only 5,000 that was produced. Obviously, operator comfort was not a major priority for the manufacturer.