FERGUS – Luke Sandink has been collecting old farm tools and household items for about 45 years.
These are all items that were once used to make every day life on the farm easier.
He has collected enough items to now have his own museum.
“I kinda like the old pioneer spirit kind of thing,” stated Sandink.
The collector’s daughter, Jennifer Kamphuis, remembers a time when her childhood home first began gaining old farm tools as a wall decoration.
The wall continued to grow in size as years passed.
“We’ve had to use [things] like this old hammer here,” Kamphuis pointed to a hammer on the wall of the museum.
“That’s what hung all the pictures on the wall when I was a kid. Every time we knew [we needed] the hammer, we just went to Dad’s wall and took it off,” she explained.
Kamphuis and her family moved onto country property with Sandink two years ago, and the large collection now has its own space.
Still located on the property, “The Wall Museum” now has a larger space to call home.
In a barn-styled shop/garage, Sandink keeps his essentials on the ground. However, when you travel up the stairs of the shop, you are welcomed into a room full of his collector’s items.
The items showcased on the wall offer an in-depth glimpse into what life was like in the past.
“I have all this stuff. I figured I might as well put it out on display so people can see it,” began Sandink.
“To have a pile in the corner of my room somewhere, that doesn’t do it any good. So, I put it out so people could see it. And we got some interesting items. Some of it’s worth something. Some of it’s worth nothing.”
A kindergarten class has visited the museum, and Sandink is hopeful that more people who are interested in old farm tools will make an appearance as well.
Although he already has a great collection, Sandink is still looking to expand his museum with more items.
“If anybody wants to get rid of anything we’d be glad to take it,” Sandink said.
