We’d heard anecdotes before about these handy folding shovels. That’s why the Ryegrass Commission made them a give-away at conferences and trade shows this year.
At this year’s National No-Till Conference, however, the shovels proved to be life savers for a group of 12 farmers traveling up the elevator to their rooms. (I was told later, the elevator was rated for six adults!)
The elevator stopped between floors and, despite cell phone calls to the desk and Otis Co., the men were still in the elevator after two hours.
As the air was getting scarce on oxygen (or so it seemed to them - I’m thinking they were also needing relief of one sort or another), one of the men went into action, applying his new shovel between the elevator doors until a few could get their fingers in to pry the doors apart. . The prying worked, and the men were able to open it fully and exit without injury.
With the country on edge about Congress’ stimulus package, and the news is littered with references to “shovel ready” projects, the incident at an Indianapolis hotel in January gave me pause to smile. “Armed with your ryegrass folding shovels, you guys could perhaps qualify for some of that stimulus money,” I quipped to one of the “survivors.”
Tags: National No-Till Conference, Ryegrass Commission, shovel ready, Shovel-ready At the National No-Till Conference
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