HUMBOLDT — Bill Jurgens can look at a run-down piece of old machinery, decide what's wrong with it and fix it long before most people would have a clue how to begin.
The funny thing is, he doesn't know exactly where this ability came from.
"My father wasn't mechanically inclined one little bit," said the 86-year-old [in 1999] Humboldt resident.
Jurgens never took any classes or read any books on restoring machinery either.
"I learned by myself how to fix things," he said. "It just came naturally ever since I was a kid."
He first started working on motorcycles as a youth. The ones he concerned himself with weren't just any old bikes – they were Harley Davidsons.
"I used to ride Harley Davidson motorbikes and I repaired them myself," he said. He said he must have racked up more than 500,000 miles on the bike trips he made as a young man.
The first money Jurgens ever made, he spent on a used Harley. In 1931 he paid $200 for a bike and fixed it up himself.
Jurgens grew up on a farm and when he got married his wife wanted them to make farming part of their life together.
He agreed, but he says now that he never got half as much enjoyment from farming as he did from fixing things.
"I did my farm work, but in my spare time, if people had trouble with their cars or tractors I would fix them up for them," he said.
After farming for more than 30 years, Jurgens sold his farm and moved into Humboldt. He was able to work with his hands as a carpenter for some time, and he was also a gunsmith for many years.
"I always had an interest in guns, so I would repair them and I collected them too," he said.
His collection, which totalled 102 guns at one time, included a matchlock gun made in the 1400s.
"You had to light a match, hold it up to the wick, then aim and fire," he said.
He also had a 30 calibre Winchester gun with a pistol grip from 1895. Only four of that type were made that year. Jurgens said he bought it for $10 and it's likely worth more than $5,000 today. Luckily, it's in safe hands — he gave it to his son as a gift.
With an interest in antiques, old machinery, and a knack for fixing things, the retiree was looking for something to occupy his time. So when the Humboldt and Area Vintage and Antique Club started up, Jurgens joined the group.
The club has been working diligently, doing renovations to the old auction mart on Highway 20, just south of Humboldt, to make it a place where people will be able to view pieces of local history.
Jurgens is playing his own role in helping the club reach its goals. He shows up at the site just about every afternoon to spend a few hours restoring any kind of antique or dusty machine he can get his hands on. It seems Jurgens has found the perfect place to continue practicing his natural skills. It's a place where he is surrounded by relics and outdated machinery, and for almost every piece of memorabilia, he knows the history behind it.
Jurgens said that since he is getting older, he is concentrating on working on smaller machines.
He has worked on a number of stationary gas engines that power such things as antique grain crushers. Jurgens donated his own engine and grain crusher to the club and restored it on his own. Now, he's working on a W12 International tractor. He says it was made between 1937 and 1940.
What's the problem with the tractor?
Well, just about everything. Flat tires, a thick layer of grease and dirt caked onto the frame and engine, and most importantly of course, it won't start.
Jurgens said he's spent about 10-12 hours on it so far and about two more weeks of afternoon work should be enough time for him to bring the tractor back to life.
"Prying the dirt off and cleaning it is the hardest part," he said. "But I won't have any problem getting it started."
Hearing the sound of an engine that hasn't stirred in years is the best part for Jurgens.
"It's a good feeling to know that you accomplished something that not a lot of other people could do. Even if you get a little disgusted early on, when you hear the engine turn over it feels really good."
It's only the old machinery that really interests Jurgens. He said he hasn't kept up with today's technology.
"The old machines are so much simpler," he said. "Nowadays they've got all these electronic things."
Aside from the natural talent he has, the attraction to this kind of hobby for Jurgens is simply that it keeps him on the move and involved with something.
"I know a lot of people who just sit around," he said. "I like to keep busy."
