I was just playing around with google looking for some of dad's equipment and ran across your discussion here - couldn't help but respond even though it is a bit old. The hay wagon was designed and built by Raye Forpahl in the mid 60's. I don't remember "anything" about a school bus being used, don't think it was. The biggest thing I remember was that it took 2 people to run it; the driver and the person stacking the bales (that would be me) as we were running along; then up to the barn, the conveyor went up to the hayloft - as I was still on the trailer stacking onto the conveyor. Sure beat running along beside a trailer and throwing bales up on it. The haywagon became one of the many of my dad's machines that were and are being manufactured by Dewey's Manufacturing in Harper, Kansas. (Harper Industries) Dad also patented the articulation found in John Deere and other tractors today. It was first in a loader (I think early 60's), followed by the COMMANDER tractor (mid 60's). The COMMANDER was the tractor I learned to disc, etc., in when I was in high school. (It was uptown let me tell you - AC and AM/FM). Dewey Hostetler is currently manufacturing the slope mower that was built and patented shortly after a motorcycle trip we took one summer; watching the mowers on the interstate sliding down the side of the hill we had to pull off the road for coffee and to draw a safer, more practical mower for such things on a napkin. Dad drew on the dash of his truck, on the knees of his pants, wherever on whatever was available when these things came to his mind and then he built them. He also built Tucker's Speed Movers which he sold to Dale Tucker in Kiowa, Kansas, Shrine Cars for the Schriner's to drive in parades, a syrup wagon that I last heard was being produced some place in Pennsylvania, and the list goes on.
It was fun seeing the old haywagon. Lots of memories.
