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Dakota Circle: Excursion on the True Plains was one of the better books I’ve read for a class, not to kiss up but it was. I enjoyed the stories and having grown up on the plains was able to relate to many of them. I almost felt like at times I could have been telling some of the stories myself.

One chapter that was especially interesting or maybe home hitting would be a better word would be the one about Jerry Built Contraptions. My dad kept everything from old machinery, old fenceposts, and old barbed wire that was so brittle you never thought you could find anything to do with it. Well then one winter we took a cutting torch to the machinery and suddenly we had a collection of scrap metal useful for many purposes. At first I had the impression we were sending it to scrap for money. We also built a doghouse for my brother (his dog not him) out of old fence posts and some leftover siding. We used the “new” scrap metal to repair old steel corral panels and gates as well as other things. We did use some of the metal for legs on grain troughs but had to buy some sheet metal to complete the project.

Part of what made this book so enjoyable was being able to relate throughout the book. While I knew about some things in the book coming into it there was still much to learn. In some cases just that I’m not the only one doing things like making useful contraptions out of junk.