RATHDRUM, Idaho - For the past decade, Don Jacklin has assembled a museum of sorts along Highway 53 that helps preserve the farming legacy of the region.
He's the right person for the job: Jacklin has been involved in agriculture his entire life. He and his family are behind Jacklin Seed Co., the successful grass seed venture founded in 1935.
"I wanted to have a very good display of old farm equipment that the public could view to kind of tell a story of old vintage agriculture," Jacklin said.
To make sure people could see the equipment and learn something about farming history, Jacklin lined up the collection of tractors, plows and other machinery and implements atop a berm that parallels the highway. Each piece has a placard attached to the fence line with a quick description.
"I've seen other displays that are just ground level, whether they're farm displays or old car displays, and you don't really look at them when they're just sitting level on the ground," Jacklin said. "My thought was I've got to put them up where they attract attention; I've got to get them up in the air."
It was 20 years ago that Jacklin purchased a parcel of land adjacent to his home. For the past nine years, this portion of the property has been used to display the vintage farming equipment - a blur of curiosity for people speeding between Rathdrum and Hauser.
The berm is draped with artificial turf to ease the maintenance, despite the Jacklin name being so closely associated with Kentucky bluegrass.
To place the rusting hulks of farming's past, Jacklin uses a heavy scissor tractor to lift them atop the berm, each strategically placed based on how much interest he assumes each piece will draw.
Given his extensive experience in agriculture, Jacklin has a special appreciation for old antique equipment. He is fascinated by how farmers in the early years did their jobs, and he came up with the idea to display some of the early 20th-century equipment. When he initially came up with the idea, Jacklin already had about five pieces of vintage equipment that he used as decoration.
He committed to fulfilling his ideal display, spending the next decade or so acquiring around 45 new pieces of vintage equipment to add to the collection. There are currently 45 different pieces of equipment on display, and he has four that he plans to add in the near future.
Once he gets the remaining equipment mounted, Jacklin's work will be complete, as there is no more room left on the berm. He is satisfied with the current state of the display and says he has acquired most of the equipment that he has sought.
"I don't know that I'll find anything of that nature beyond what I have now, but I really like the unique agriculture stuff," Jacklin said.
Each piece of equipment has a sign in front of it that labels exactly what it is and where Jacklin acquired it. He says he secured about a third of the equipment within the Rathdrum prairie and Spokane Valley. Though he also occasionally gets his equipment from Oregon and various other locations outside of North Idaho, Jacklin has obtained a lot of his machinery in Montana.
"I really found a kind of a gold nest over in Montana," he said. "In Montana, there is a lot of the old farm equipment that is still with the grandson from those old farmers. They kind of saved it or have it in a corner.
"That was a real good source of old farm equipment for me. I've kind of picked them up from all over, but Montana is probably the best to secure vintage farm pieces."
Jacklin says it is close to a 50/50 split of purchases and donations with the machines currently in his possession. In order to secure them, Jacklin put an ad in an agriculture newspaper in Oregon's Willamette Valley, as well as in a monthly newspaper for Montana farmers.
And though he is passionate about all the equipment he has obtained, there are a few pieces that have more sentimental value to Jacklin than others.
"A couple of the old plows are sentimental to the family. One really nice item there on display is a well clam," Jacklin said. "Another special piece that I actually got from Wenatchee, Washington, is a large stationary hay baler, which are really rare to find."
The well clam is one of Jacklin's favorites, if not the top. About 80% of the wells in the area were hand-dug, and well clams were used during this process to scoop up sediment.
The first piece he acquired for the display was a steel-wheeled tractor that he got from his neighbor, whose family had used it while farming the Rathdrum prairie. It is on the corner of the display, shining for onlookers to observe. The same neighbor gave Jacklin a vintage Ford Model T C-Cab that he plans to load with old wine barrels to make it look like an old prohibition truck.
In early 2024, the Idaho State Transportation Department informed Jacklin that, in order for it to complete the highway-widening project, Jacklin would need to relocate the berm. So he moved it 20 feet to the north.
But the biggest issue is the North Idaho weather. Because the equipment is uncovered, months of cold and wet will play a role in how long the it will last.
The metal equipment rusts but would potentially still be serviceable after lubrication. On the other hand, the wooden equipment has a shorter lifespan but will still likely last another 10 or 15 years.
Jacklin's cutoff for what he considers vintage is 1945. Anything newer does not qualify for the display.
Jacklin says he hopes his collection adds something unusual to the local community as it helps preserve agricultural history.
"As housing comes into the prairie, into Spokane Valley, farming is displaced, and yet this is still a way to ... appreciate what the old-time agriculture used to be and to have a connection with history," he said.
Jacklin says he gets at least a dozen calls each year from people and groups who want to get a closer look at the equipment. They include schools, for example, but about 80% of the calls are from retired farmers who want to take pictures and enjoy a bit of nostalgia.
The next step for Jacklin's collection is a longtime goal of his that he said will come to fruition at some point in May. Approximately 5 miles southeast of the property, the Jacklins own a large farm dating to 1898. The family bought it in 1948, and they eventually put metal around the outside and the roof of the barn to preserve it.
"Our family has agreed that they want to take the old barn and make it into an agriculture museum, which we're in the process of doing now," Jacklin said.
It will be revamped to host school field trips so students can see the equipment first used on the prairie.
"We'll have a really nice museum with agriculture artifacts from the Rathdrum Prairie and Spokane Valley," he said.