OCT. 29 ISSUE ANSWERS: This display has nothing to do with blacksmithing. These tools are the tools that every farmer near Romeo would consider a necessity. The blacksmith museum tells about many Romeo occupations of the past, including lumbering, ice, harvesting, home building, trapping, car repair, transportation and iron making. The farm tools in the photo did many tasks. The metal disk with a wood handle in the cast iron pot is a hog scraper. After the hog is killed and dumped in boiling water, the farmer/butcher scrapes the hog’s bristles off its skin by rubbing the disk against its skin. The hay knife on the left by the window was used to cut chunks of matted hay in the hay mow. After a couple of months in the mow and after being squeezed by hay above, the hay becomes tangled and matted. The farmer uses this saw to cut free quantities of hay for his purpose. The long wooden box to the left is a planter. The farmer walks along the furrows shoving the planter into the ground, thus depositing seeds or potato sets. The Gray family patented a version of this planter. It is on display. The cow or goat bell has the leather collar still attached. No need to use your cell phone and GPS app to find a wandering goat. Just listen! Bug spray applicator, and sickles and other implements are there for the visitor to admire. We know of a RHS member who has a hay cutter on display in their home. What some folks think is attractive? Richard Beringer, Craig Museum Curator