Dennis’ Collection
We all have things that become a collection when we least expect it at the onset. In 1974 Dennis became the owner of a Hesston Belt buckle. The buckles were not sold, they were given to the farm implement dealers to hand out at will. Somewhere along the line a buckle was acquired by Dennis every year. Here we are in 2017 and Dennis has each of the years. We had bought a belt buckle case at one of the trade shows in Sioux Falls. We never ever thought that we should have bought two at the time.
Dennis’ friend Doug offered to make Dennis a second case. Today, we . . . the older ones on Stauffer Avenue, with not a little bit of a challenge, got them on the wall. The type of wood that Doug used or the stain on the case is not of any concern. The buckles are out of the plastic bin and each has a spot in the belt buckle cases. We have a lot of window reflections from the south windows and thus I couldn’t stand exactly in front of the cases for the photo. 
They are each of the same size. I have no doubt that as Dennis put the buckles in place there were memories that fleeted through Dennis’ mind. Currently we need to keep the implement dealer in Sleepy Eye in the forefront of our minds each year. When we stopped there last week and Dennis picked up the 2017 buckle, the fellow did comment that they don’t received as many as they had in times past. What is noticeable in the buckles is the quality of metal and detail from 1974 to the present. The first was very simplistic with not even the year on it. 
Somewhere along the line the buckles began to represent the Hesston sponsored rodeos. I used a photo of a belt buckle that is within the collection to show the rodeo influence. It’s a collection that now has a life of its own and is ever growing. I believe there is plenty of room yet to be filled.