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Home My WebLink AboutThe Citizen, 1990-07-18, Page 153 seconds In three seconds last October 8 Harvey Hodgins’ life was changed forever. In another three seconds it could have been ended. Mr. Hodgins, a Stephen Town ship farmer told the annual media day of the Huron County Farm and Home Safety Association it took only that long for him to lose his leg and nearly lose his life. Active all his life, loving to dance, always on the run, the 65-year-old Mr. Hod gins now finds life different as he adjusts to using an artificial limb. It started when an auger on a forage wagon jammed and he went into the wagon to unclog it. He freed up the auger and was watching it slowly inch across the wagon when he touched it with his foot. The auger grabbed his foot and in about three seconds had wound his leg right up to the waist. At that point something made his Local farms toured Thursday BY JOHN BANCROFT FARM MANAGEMENT SPECIALIST, HURON COUNTY If cattle are your livelihood, then this tour is for you. Come join the Huron County Cattlemen’s Asso ciation on their annual county farm 'tour on Thursday, July 19. It all begins at 9:30 a.m. at Howatt Bros, feedlot which is just north of Snell’s Feed and Supply at Westfield. Their operation features a slatted floor barn and they utilize feed by-products in their feeding program. Next, Tom Black’s Blonde d’Aquitaine cow-calf operation will be visited followed by a stop at Doug Walker’s feedlot and seed cleaning operation. Before lunch at the St. Helens Women’s Institute Hall, the car tour will be stopping at Neil Rintoul’s cow-calf and feedlot operation. A Mennonite sawmill operated by Jake Stutzman that does custom sawing will be an unique stop after lunch. The tour will end at Art Helm’s where he has a 100 plus cow-calf herd. Art uses big bales that are protected by wrapping plastic around them and he has a tub grinder to grind the bales before feeding. If you are looking for some practical information, plan to join the Huron County Cattlemen on July 19. Twilight tour to be held Thursday A joint tour combining both Huron and Bruce counties is being sponsored by the Huron Soil and Water Conservation District. The tour will focus on conserva tion tillage techniques, particularly ridge-till and no-till. The tour will include stops at John McLarty’s no-till corn, Glen Boyd’s no-till soybeans, Lawrence Hogan’s ridge-till corn and Steve Howard’d ridge-till white beans. The tour date is July 19 at 7 p.m. Starting point for the tour will be the Hogans’ shop - Lot 1, Cone. 11 W.D., Ashfield Twp. This tour will be the beginning of a conservation club. At this meet ing the group will be looking for input on what you think the key issues are that would help you adopt a conservation system. Anyone unable to attend but interested in the club can call Phil Clark at Auburn. changed son, who was operating the tractor power take off that was powering the auger, shut off the machine for some reason. He said later he hadn’t heard his father yell, just heard a noise and shut the power off. Another three seconds and the auger would have worked its way up his body, and probably killed him, Mr. Hodgins says. Mr. Hodgins threaded himself out of the auger. “You have no idea how mad 1 was,” he says, remem bering the frustration of knowing how such a short time was going to change his life. He wasn’t afraid of dying but knew his leg was in bad shape. He was taken to hospital in London and the leg was amputated. He spent 43 days in hospital, being taken to the operating room nine different times. The first day or two he could have cried all day, he said and probably should have but he re alized he had to change his attitude and not feel sorry for himself. He said he didn’t want his wife and family to suffer because of his misfortune so he wanted to make the best of the situation. Meanwhile friends and neigh bours came to the family’s aid. Ten farmers arrived and plowed 185 acres in a day. A benefit dance was held with 750 people contributing $5,000 to help out. He hadn’t really THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, JULY 18, 1990. PAGE 15. farmer’s life forever wanted the help but was over whelmed by the thoughtfulness. “When the neighbours came in I could have cried.” After his stay in hospital he was home for a time then went back in to be fitted for a “shell”, a temporary artificial leg. He spent three weeks getting fitted and learning to use the leg. He has to keep going back for refits because the stump of his amputated leg keeps shrinking and will for some months yet. * ‘There isn’t one thing I do that’s easy anymore,” he says. He used to go up a ladder lickety split but now has to go one step at a time. He has had to find ways of getting onto each tractor because each kind of machine causes different pro blems. He still gets phantom pains from the foot that isn’t there. “I wouldn’t have taken a million dollars to have this happen,” he says. Instead he’s not only missing a foot but it’s cost thousands of dollars in medical bills. Still, he says, in those weeks in hospital he met so many people with more problems than he has and he can also think of how fortunate it was his son turned off the machine when he did. “It scares the life out of me to think what would have happened if Glen hadn’t shut off the tractor,” he says. He also thinks of the mental anguish and one that changed his life. “It was so simple I can hardly accept it as an accident,” he says shaking his head. guilt his son would have felt if he had been killed in the accident. And he still wonders at how quickly a routine day turned into Graphic evidence Harvey Hodgins of Crediton removes his artificial leg to show the damage done when he was caught in a forage wagon auger last October. He spent 43 days in hospital after his leg was amputated. DISCOUNT CENTRE AND VARIETY STORE QUEEN & DRUMMOND ST., BLYTH (IN THE FORMER BLYTH SUPERMARKET) YOUR ONE-STOP FAMILY SAVINGS CENTRE GREETING CARDS WEDDING, BIRTHDAY AND ALL OCCASIONS 40% OFF REG.PRlCE / IMAGE CRAFT GREETING CARDS STOCK UP FOR ALL OCCASIONS / AND SAVE 40% OFF EVERY DAY PRICES BELL’S ONCE A YEAR SUMMER BLOWOUT 12 DAYS ONLY ALL IN-STOCK -ife/ POTATO CHIPS SMALL FRY PRIVATE BRAND 200 GRAMS ASS’T FLAVOURS SUMMER -T - - -- -- SPRING a SUMMER JEWELLERY ALL IN-STOCK EARRINGS AND FASHION CHAINS REG. VALUES UP TO $8.00 CLOTHES % PRICE V V. XA/HII FTHFY I AST .99 2 LTR.POP SALE COLGATE BRAND 150 ML. TOOTHPASTE ABC LAUNDRY DETERGENT 5 LTR. 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