Sad day at Nebraska Firewood

isaaccarlson · Mar 30, 2023

Sounds like a great guy who had a full life. Real friends are hard to find.

JimBear · Mar 30, 2023

Stephiedoll said: ↑

I will try to not make this a long post.

The year was 2006 when we purchased our current home with a fireplace in it. That winter we purchased a couple loads of wood using my 1996 E150 with no back seats. That winter we had to scrape the inside of the of the windows from all the moisture in that wood. Next summer I purchased a new 455 as my first chainsaw and started to scrounge around for anything I could find along with a maul for splitting. I also placed an ad on Craigslist looking for wood.

Had a reply from a farmer that he had fence lines that needed to be cleared. We met and looked like easy to get to wood and minimal amount of work dealing with brush. When I got home there was a message from this guy (Lefty) who had a place south of town (15 miles from me) where I could cut and split wood. Deal was he keeps the oak so sounded good to me. Went out to look at it and there was this white haired, full beard hillbilly kind of guy.

As I was still new using saws he wanted to watch/coach me to make sure I was safe using it. After working for a couple of hours cutting he pulled out his "Lickity" splitter, so we ran it for another couple hours. I believe it was an 8-ton and was only a foot off the ground, but did it ever split the wood. After a couple of weekends I told him about the monster pile I had at the house that needed to be split. Well next thing I know here is unloading that splitter at the house as he was going to be out of town for a few weeks. Hardly knew me but still trusting me with his splitter. I didn't know people like him still existed.

That was in 2008 and in 2009 after spending most free weekends scrounging and working out at his place processing wood I decided to do an upgrade and purchased a new Huskee 35-ton from Tractor Supply. We took it out to his place and brought his Lickity splitter to town for me to use. Worked great for several years and we both processed a ton of wood for myself, his personal use and to sell. By this time it was agreed upon that any wood sold would be split between us 50/50. Over the years we both made some nice spending cash and allowed me to pick up my 365 special that he saw at an auction. He also had a 261 Husky, Stihl 044 plus a couple of Echo top-handles as he was a retired arborist. He was amazed at my scrounging ability and we always had plenty of wood to work with. I can't remember when it was, but his 261 lost compression so he gave it to me and just used the 044, his favorite anyway. It sat for a few months but I finally was able to get an aftermarket 262 top-end for it and rebuilt it. For Christmas I gave it back and he could not believe I got it going. Amazingly it is still running well to this day.

2016 I decided to purchase a Country Line 25-ton for the house and we sold the Lickity. So now I was working wood at two locations and was able to keep myself with a couple of years' worth of wood here at the house. We never sold a ton and since it was just in large piles I can only guess that amounted to 15 cords or so a year. Not enough to get rich off of but kept us busy and some spending cash.

Over the years we became best friends and shared a lot of laughs but also a few tears during that time. New Years eve 2021 he had a chicken coop catch on fire and lost most of their chickens. Fire department made quick work of it and looked like no other spreading from it. Lefty kept checking the area until 3:30 AM before heading to sleep. I want to say it was 5:30 when they were awoken from a telephone call from a neighbor saying that the barn was on fire and fire department was in route again. I got his call at 7:00 AM New Years day 2022 and headed out thinking he was just pulling another joke, but it was no joke. Lefty and I visited while the fire department was working it and brought in a track hoe to tear the rest down and stir the remains for hot-spots. It was also the fire that took out my 25-ton splitter as I moved it out there when Edwin started to use his place to split his own wood to sale and was using the 35-ton for himself.

Time moves on and Lefty, his wife Bunny, friends, neighbors and me to a smaller extent worked on cleaning up the remains plus dealing with the insurance company. Sad days but we got past them. I've been extremely busy with my work, plus some depression, wasn't going out as often as normal. I also let me personal wood supply dwindle so that I empty here at the house after this season.

Anyway, fast forward to last Tuesday (21 March) when I missed a call from his son-in-law, very strange as he has never called me before. A few minutes later I got a call from his daughter, and I could not believe my ears, "Lefty has passed away". I knew he had a bad heart valve and was in the process of getting it taken care of. In fact, the week before they scoped his arteries and heart and everything looked very good with not cause for concern and surgery should be very straight forward. He had a Fitbit on and it recorded a few beats and then nothing.

Sorry, I will try to continue tomorrow but very hard to see the screen now. He was my best friend and like a brother to me.

Thanks for listening and I will add as I can.
Click to expand...

I know you often spoke of Lefty in your posts. I am sorry to hear this.

Chvymn99 · Mar 31, 2023

So sorry to hear that Stephiedoll .... My condolences ... May God be with you all in your time of need...

Stephiedoll · Mar 31, 2023

Thanks everyone, he was one of a kind jokester and you never knew if he was serious or not. Him and Bunny stood up for us at our wedding. Afterward we went to LJS for lunch and as we finished up he got up and went around to all the other dinners to see how their food and service was, as though he was the manager.

Haftacut · Mar 31, 2023

Stephiedoll said: ↑

I will try to not make this a long post.

The year was 2006 when we purchased our current home with a fireplace in it. That winter we purchased a couple loads of wood using my 1996 E150 with no back seats. That winter we had to scrape the inside of the of the windows from all the moisture in that wood. Next summer I purchased a new 455 as my first chainsaw and started to scrounge around for anything I could find along with a maul for splitting. I also placed an ad on Craigslist looking for wood.

Had a reply from a farmer that he had fence lines that needed to be cleared. We met and looked like easy to get to wood and minimal amount of work dealing with brush. When I got home there was a message from this guy (Lefty) who had a place south of town (15 miles from me) where I could cut and split wood. Deal was he keeps the oak so sounded good to me. Went out to look at it and there was this white haired, full beard hillbilly kind of guy.

As I was still new using saws he wanted to watch/coach me to make sure I was safe using it. After working for a couple of hours cutting he pulled out his "Lickity" splitter, so we ran it for another couple hours. I believe it was an 8-ton and was only a foot off the ground, but did it ever split the wood. After a couple of weekends I told him about the monster pile I had at the house that needed to be split. Well next thing I know here is unloading that splitter at the house as he was going to be out of town for a few weeks. Hardly knew me but still trusting me with his splitter. I didn't know people like him still existed.

That was in 2008 and in 2009 after spending most free weekends scrounging and working out at his place processing wood I decided to do an upgrade and purchased a new Huskee 35-ton from Tractor Supply. We took it out to his place and brought his Lickity splitter to town for me to use. Worked great for several years and we both processed a ton of wood for myself, his personal use and to sell. By this time it was agreed upon that any wood sold would be split between us 50/50. Over the years we both made some nice spending cash and allowed me to pick up my 365 special that he saw at an auction. He also had a 261 Husky, Stihl 044 plus a couple of Echo top-handles as he was a retired arborist. He was amazed at my scrounging ability and we always had plenty of wood to work with. I can't remember when it was, but his 261 lost compression so he gave it to me and just used the 044, his favorite anyway. It sat for a few months but I finally was able to get an aftermarket 262 top-end for it and rebuilt it. For Christmas I gave it back and he could not believe I got it going. Amazingly it is still running well to this day.

2016 I decided to purchase a Country Line 25-ton for the house and we sold the Lickity. So now I was working wood at two locations and was able to keep myself with a couple of years' worth of wood here at the house. We never sold a ton and since it was just in large piles I can only guess that amounted to 15 cords or so a year. Not enough to get rich off of but kept us busy and some spending cash.

Over the years we became best friends and shared a lot of laughs but also a few tears during that time. New Years eve 2021 he had a chicken coop catch on fire and lost most of their chickens. Fire department made quick work of it and looked like no other spreading from it. Lefty kept checking the area until 3:30 AM before heading to sleep. I want to say it was 5:30 when they were awoken from a telephone call from a neighbor saying that the barn was on fire and fire department was in route again. I got his call at 7:00 AM New Years day 2022 and headed out thinking he was just pulling another joke, but it was no joke. Lefty and I visited while the fire department was working it and brought in a track hoe to tear the rest down and stir the remains for hot-spots. It was also the fire that took out my 25-ton splitter as I moved it out there when Edwin started to use his place to split his own wood to sale and was using the 35-ton for himself.

Time moves on and Lefty, his wife Bunny, friends, neighbors and me to a smaller extent worked on cleaning up the remains plus dealing with the insurance company. Sad days but we got past them. I've been extremely busy with my work, plus some depression, wasn't going out as often as normal. I also let me personal wood supply dwindle so that I empty here at the house after this season.

Anyway, fast forward to last Tuesday (21 March) when I missed a call from his son-in-law, very strange as he has never called me before. A few minutes later I got a call from his daughter, and I could not believe my ears, "Lefty has passed away". I knew he had a bad heart valve and was in the process of getting it taken care of. In fact, the week before they scoped his arteries and heart and everything looked very good with not cause for concern and surgery should be very straight forward. He had a Fitbit on and it recorded a few beats and then nothing.

Sorry, I will try to continue tomorrow but very hard to see the screen now. He was my best friend and like a brother to me.

Thanks for listening and I will add as I can.
Click to expand...

Sounds like you made the most of your time with lefty, and that will make the grieving so much easier. Lots of acquaintances but so few friends this side of heaven. Sounds like lefty was a true friend! Hang in there

Erik B · Mar 31, 2023

Stephiedoll said: ↑

I will try to not make this a long post.

The year was 2006 when we purchased our current home with a fireplace in it. That winter we purchased a couple loads of wood using my 1996 E150 with no back seats. That winter we had to scrape the inside of the of the windows from all the moisture in that wood. Next summer I purchased a new 455 as my first chainsaw and started to scrounge around for anything I could find along with a maul for splitting. I also placed an ad on Craigslist looking for wood.

Had a reply from a farmer that he had fence lines that needed to be cleared. We met and looked like easy to get to wood and minimal amount of work dealing with brush. When I got home there was a message from this guy (Lefty) who had a place south of town (15 miles from me) where I could cut and split wood. Deal was he keeps the oak so sounded good to me. Went out to look at it and there was this white haired, full beard hillbilly kind of guy.

As I was still new using saws he wanted to watch/coach me to make sure I was safe using it. After working for a couple of hours cutting he pulled out his "Lickity" splitter, so we ran it for another couple hours. I believe it was an 8-ton and was only a foot off the ground, but did it ever split the wood. After a couple of weekends I told him about the monster pile I had at the house that needed to be split. Well next thing I know here is unloading that splitter at the house as he was going to be out of town for a few weeks. Hardly knew me but still trusting me with his splitter. I didn't know people like him still existed.

That was in 2008 and in 2009 after spending most free weekends scrounging and working out at his place processing wood I decided to do an upgrade and purchased a new Huskee 35-ton from Tractor Supply. We took it out to his place and brought his Lickity splitter to town for me to use. Worked great for several years and we both processed a ton of wood for myself, his personal use and to sell. By this time it was agreed upon that any wood sold would be split between us 50/50. Over the years we both made some nice spending cash and allowed me to pick up my 365 special that he saw at an auction. He also had a 261 Husky, Stihl 044 plus a couple of Echo top-handles as he was a retired arborist. He was amazed at my scrounging ability and we always had plenty of wood to work with. I can't remember when it was, but his 261 lost compression so he gave it to me and just used the 044, his favorite anyway. It sat for a few months but I finally was able to get an aftermarket 262 top-end for it and rebuilt it. For Christmas I gave it back and he could not believe I got it going. Amazingly it is still running well to this day.

2016 I decided to purchase a Country Line 25-ton for the house and we sold the Lickity. So now I was working wood at two locations and was able to keep myself with a couple of years' worth of wood here at the house. We never sold a ton and since it was just in large piles I can only guess that amounted to 15 cords or so a year. Not enough to get rich off of but kept us busy and some spending cash.

Over the years we became best friends and shared a lot of laughs but also a few tears during that time. New Years eve 2021 he had a chicken coop catch on fire and lost most of their chickens. Fire department made quick work of it and looked like no other spreading from it. Lefty kept checking the area until 3:30 AM before heading to sleep. I want to say it was 5:30 when they were awoken from a telephone call from a neighbor saying that the barn was on fire and fire department was in route again. I got his call at 7:00 AM New Years day 2022 and headed out thinking he was just pulling another joke, but it was no joke. Lefty and I visited while the fire department was working it and brought in a track hoe to tear the rest down and stir the remains for hot-spots. It was also the fire that took out my 25-ton splitter as I moved it out there when Edwin started to use his place to split his own wood to sale and was using the 35-ton for himself.

Time moves on and Lefty, his wife Bunny, friends, neighbors and me to a smaller extent worked on cleaning up the remains plus dealing with the insurance company. Sad days but we got past them. I've been extremely busy with my work, plus some depression, wasn't going out as often as normal. I also let me personal wood supply dwindle so that I empty here at the house after this season.

Anyway, fast forward to last Tuesday (21 March) when I missed a call from his son-in-law, very strange as he has never called me before. A few minutes later I got a call from his daughter, and I could not believe my ears, "Lefty has passed away". I knew he had a bad heart valve and was in the process of getting it taken care of. In fact, the week before they scoped his arteries and heart and everything looked very good with not cause for concern and surgery should be very straight forward. He had a Fitbit on and it recorded a few beats and then nothing.

Sorry, I will try to continue tomorrow but very hard to see the screen now. He was my best friend and like a brother to me.

Thanks for listening and I will add as I can.
Click to expand...

Sorry for your loss Stephie. It is not easy losing a close friend. May God's peace be with you.

brenndatomu · Mar 31, 2023

Stephiedoll said: ↑

I will try to not make this a long post.

The year was 2006 when we purchased our current home with a fireplace in it. That winter we purchased a couple loads of wood using my 1996 E150 with no back seats. That winter we had to scrape the inside of the of the windows from all the moisture in that wood. Next summer I purchased a new 455 as my first chainsaw and started to scrounge around for anything I could find along with a maul for splitting. I also placed an ad on Craigslist looking for wood.

Had a reply from a farmer that he had fence lines that needed to be cleared. We met and looked like easy to get to wood and minimal amount of work dealing with brush. When I got home there was a message from this guy (Lefty) who had a place south of town (15 miles from me) where I could cut and split wood. Deal was he keeps the oak so sounded good to me. Went out to look at it and there was this white haired, full beard hillbilly kind of guy.

As I was still new using saws he wanted to watch/coach me to make sure I was safe using it. After working for a couple of hours cutting he pulled out his "Lickity" splitter, so we ran it for another couple hours. I believe it was an 8-ton and was only a foot off the ground, but did it ever split the wood. After a couple of weekends I told him about the monster pile I had at the house that needed to be split. Well next thing I know here is unloading that splitter at the house as he was going to be out of town for a few weeks. Hardly knew me but still trusting me with his splitter. I didn't know people like him still existed.

That was in 2008 and in 2009 after spending most free weekends scrounging and working out at his place processing wood I decided to do an upgrade and purchased a new Huskee 35-ton from Tractor Supply. We took it out to his place and brought his Lickity splitter to town for me to use. Worked great for several years and we both processed a ton of wood for myself, his personal use and to sell. By this time it was agreed upon that any wood sold would be split between us 50/50. Over the years we both made some nice spending cash and allowed me to pick up my 365 special that he saw at an auction. He also had a 261 Husky, Stihl 044 plus a couple of Echo top-handles as he was a retired arborist. He was amazed at my scrounging ability and we always had plenty of wood to work with. I can't remember when it was, but his 261 lost compression so he gave it to me and just used the 044, his favorite anyway. It sat for a few months but I finally was able to get an aftermarket 262 top-end for it and rebuilt it. For Christmas I gave it back and he could not believe I got it going. Amazingly it is still running well to this day.

2016 I decided to purchase a Country Line 25-ton for the house and we sold the Lickity. So now I was working wood at two locations and was able to keep myself with a couple of years' worth of wood here at the house. We never sold a ton and since it was just in large piles I can only guess that amounted to 15 cords or so a year. Not enough to get rich off of but kept us busy and some spending cash.

Over the years we became best friends and shared a lot of laughs but also a few tears during that time. New Years eve 2021 he had a chicken coop catch on fire and lost most of their chickens. Fire department made quick work of it and looked like no other spreading from it. Lefty kept checking the area until 3:30 AM before heading to sleep. I want to say it was 5:30 when they were awoken from a telephone call from a neighbor saying that the barn was on fire and fire department was in route again. I got his call at 7:00 AM New Years day 2022 and headed out thinking he was just pulling another joke, but it was no joke. Lefty and I visited while the fire department was working it and brought in a track hoe to tear the rest down and stir the remains for hot-spots. It was also the fire that took out my 25-ton splitter as I moved it out there when Edwin started to use his place to split his own wood to sale and was using the 35-ton for himself.

Time moves on and Lefty, his wife Bunny, friends, neighbors and me to a smaller extent worked on cleaning up the remains plus dealing with the insurance company. Sad days but we got past them. I've been extremely busy with my work, plus some depression, wasn't going out as often as normal. I also let me personal wood supply dwindle so that I empty here at the house after this season.

Anyway, fast forward to last Tuesday (21 March) when I missed a call from his son-in-law, very strange as he has never called me before. A few minutes later I got a call from his daughter, and I could not believe my ears, "Lefty has passed away". I knew he had a bad heart valve and was in the process of getting it taken care of. In fact, the week before they scoped his arteries and heart and everything looked very good with not cause for concern and surgery should be very straight forward. He had a Fitbit on and it recorded a few beats and then nothing.

Sorry, I will try to continue tomorrow but very hard to see the screen now. He was my best friend and like a brother to me.

Thanks for listening and I will add as I can.
Click to expand...

"Liked" only to acknowledge the loss of what sounds like a true friend and general good dude. Condolences to you and his family.

TurboDiesel · Mar 31, 2023

Stephiedoll said: ↑

He was my best friend
Click to expand...

Oh no, so very sorry to hear of your loss, Stephie.

Father God, i pray for your Comfort for Stephie through this time of loss.
In Jesus' most Holy and Precious name i pray. Amen.

Stephiedoll · Mar 31, 2023

Lefty on his Massy

Canadian border VT · Mar 31, 2023

Sorry for your loss Stephiedoll
I have read about Lefty on your posts so; it almost feels as if I knew him also.. True friends are rare and precious

Sirchopsalot · Mar 31, 2023

Man....sorry to hear of your (and Bunny's) loss.

Will grieve with you in my heart tonight.

How'd he get the name 'lefty'? Bet there's a story there.

All the best S.D.

SKEETER McCLUSKEY · Mar 31, 2023

Stephiedoll said: ↑

I will try to not make this a long post.

The year was 2006 when we purchased our current home with a fireplace in it. That winter we purchased a couple loads of wood using my 1996 E150 with no back seats. That winter we had to scrape the inside of the of the windows from all the moisture in that wood. Next summer I purchased a new 455 as my first chainsaw and started to scrounge around for anything I could find along with a maul for splitting. I also placed an ad on Craigslist looking for wood.

Had a reply from a farmer that he had fence lines that needed to be cleared. We met and looked like easy to get to wood and minimal amount of work dealing with brush. When I got home there was a message from this guy (Lefty) who had a place south of town (15 miles from me) where I could cut and split wood. Deal was he keeps the oak so sounded good to me. Went out to look at it and there was this white haired, full beard hillbilly kind of guy.

As I was still new using saws he wanted to watch/coach me to make sure I was safe using it. After working for a couple of hours cutting he pulled out his "Lickity" splitter, so we ran it for another couple hours. I believe it was an 8-ton and was only a foot off the ground, but did it ever split the wood. After a couple of weekends I told him about the monster pile I had at the house that needed to be split. Well next thing I know here is unloading that splitter at the house as he was going to be out of town for a few weeks. Hardly knew me but still trusting me with his splitter. I didn't know people like him still existed.

That was in 2008 and in 2009 after spending most free weekends scrounging and working out at his place processing wood I decided to do an upgrade and purchased a new Huskee 35-ton from Tractor Supply. We took it out to his place and brought his Lickity splitter to town for me to use. Worked great for several years and we both processed a ton of wood for myself, his personal use and to sell. By this time it was agreed upon that any wood sold would be split between us 50/50. Over the years we both made some nice spending cash and allowed me to pick up my 365 special that he saw at an auction. He also had a 261 Husky, Stihl 044 plus a couple of Echo top-handles as he was a retired arborist. He was amazed at my scrounging ability and we always had plenty of wood to work with. I can't remember when it was, but his 261 lost compression so he gave it to me and just used the 044, his favorite anyway. It sat for a few months but I finally was able to get an aftermarket 262 top-end for it and rebuilt it. For Christmas I gave it back and he could not believe I got it going. Amazingly it is still running well to this day.

2016 I decided to purchase a Country Line 25-ton for the house and we sold the Lickity. So now I was working wood at two locations and was able to keep myself with a couple of years' worth of wood here at the house. We never sold a ton and since it was just in large piles I can only guess that amounted to 15 cords or so a year. Not enough to get rich off of but kept us busy and some spending cash.

Over the years we became best friends and shared a lot of laughs but also a few tears during that time. New Years eve 2021 he had a chicken coop catch on fire and lost most of their chickens. Fire department made quick work of it and looked like no other spreading from it. Lefty kept checking the area until 3:30 AM before heading to sleep. I want to say it was 5:30 when they were awoken from a telephone call from a neighbor saying that the barn was on fire and fire department was in route again. I got his call at 7:00 AM New Years day 2022 and headed out thinking he was just pulling another joke, but it was no joke. Lefty and I visited while the fire department was working it and brought in a track hoe to tear the rest down and stir the remains for hot-spots. It was also the fire that took out my 25-ton splitter as I moved it out there when Edwin started to use his place to split his own wood to sale and was using the 35-ton for himself.

Time moves on and Lefty, his wife Bunny, friends, neighbors and me to a smaller extent worked on cleaning up the remains plus dealing with the insurance company. Sad days but we got past them. I've been extremely busy with my work, plus some depression, wasn't going out as often as normal. I also let me personal wood supply dwindle so that I empty here at the house after this season.

Anyway, fast forward to last Tuesday (21 March) when I missed a call from his son-in-law, very strange as he has never called me before. A few minutes later I got a call from his daughter, and I could not believe my ears, "Lefty has passed away". I knew he had a bad heart valve and was in the process of getting it taken care of. In fact, the week before they scoped his arteries and heart and everything looked very good with not cause for concern and surgery should be very straight forward. He had a Fitbit on and it recorded a few beats and then nothing.

Sorry, I will try to continue tomorrow but very hard to see the screen now. He was my best friend and like a brother to me.

Thanks for listening and I will add as I can.
Click to expand...

Omg...

Redneck · Apr 1, 2023

RIP Lefty. Our thoughts and prayers are with You and Lefty's family.

Skier76 · Apr 1, 2023

What an amazing story. Some great memories in there. So sorry for the loss. It’s tough to read.

JD Guy · Apr 1, 2023

I would like to add my thoughts, prayers and condolences to you and Lefty’s wife. You know that there is a special place in Heaven for people like Lefty.

Ron T · Apr 2, 2023

Very sorry for your loss Stephiedoll

Stephiedoll · Apr 2, 2023

Went out today and put a battery on Edwin's splitter, not that it is all that needed. Finished a couple of cuts and then split the rest of the wood by the splitter. After that, moved the splitter and started on the hedge that JimBear gifted me. Here are just some general pictures of the area but not all the wood that is split. Battery on his IH 460 was dead so I may pick up a new one for it. Once running, I will try my hand at using the forks to move totes around. Wondering how expensive forks would be for the three-point?

Stephiedoll · Apr 2, 2023

JimBear · Apr 2, 2023

Stephiedoll said: ↑

Wondering how expensive forks would be for the three-point?
Click to expand...

I will do some looking around at auctions & such fork 3 point forks but most will likely be too wide for the lift slots on your cages. I believe we used to have a set that were flat & would set on the ground, I will do some digging when I have time.

I would think you could acquire a set of flat forks for $150 - $300 at auction.

JimBear · Apr 2, 2023

Stephiedoll

This photo is what I am talking about as far as flat forks, you can occasionally find these in 3pt type at auction.

These may work depending on spear size & width but you could have them narrowed up at a reasonable rate I would think.

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Sad day at Nebraska Firewood

isaaccarlson

JimBear

Chvymn99 Moderator

Stephiedoll

Haftacut

Erik B

brenndatomu

TurboDiesel

Stephiedoll

Canadian border VT

Sirchopsalot

SKEETER McCLUSKEY

Redneck

Skier76

JD Guy

Ron T

Stephiedoll

Attached Files:

4 totes drying.jpg

All by myself.jpg

Over full x2 shorts totes.jpg

Same locust totes.jpg

Stephiedoll

Attached Files:

Drying totes.jpg

JD hedge pile.jpg

JD hedge split.jpg

JimBear

JimBear