43138 Road 52 Reedley, California 93654
Traveling north on Highway #41 out of Fresno, California one
notices an unusual display on the left side of the road. A 12 foot
John Deere pull type combine, such as were common in the
1930’s, has been elevated some 25-30 feet into the air resting
on 3 pillars giving the travelers the message that wheat was king
in former years whereas today the fields have been planted to fruit
trees and vines due to the development of irrigation.
I could not help but get out of my car and study the engineering
that it has taken to firmly support this huge combine on only 3
pillars. A perfect sense of balance had to be determined before the
machine ever left the ground and no doubt it took a huge hoist to
pick it up without twisting the frame.
There is no sign or display telling about the purpose of this
project. Nevertheless to me it leaves the message that we are
living in a changing world whereas this machine was king in its hey
day, it is now only a symbol of former events passed by.
