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How I became a lover of the Horses is a mixture of fluke, mishap, luck, and providence. Not quite a year ago, my wife, our one year old son, and I bought a home and moved to a predominantly white small river town named Utica, in Indiana. I was depressed because after the previous five years of school, medical problems, and eventually graduating with honors and a bachelor's degree, I could not find work. With no interviews, no answers to my sent resume and applications, I found myself wondering what I would do. I am a minister, which means I did a lot of praying about what my next move was to be. I was lead to go out and look for someone in a less fortunate situation than myself, and to then ask them how I might serve them. I began mowing the lawns for our elderly, disabled, and disadvantaged NEIGHBORS, with a 12 hp Cub Cadet, the previous home owner had left. I used that little riding mower to drag away fallen trees, logs left by the risen Ohio River, and anything else my NEIGHBORS needed removed. One day an elderly NEIGHBOR who ran the local small engines repair shop exclaimed to me, "Manny, do you realize you're tearing up that riding mower dragging those trees and logs? What you need is a tractor!" I asked him if he had any in his garage, and informed he did not. BUT...Mr Snelling added, "you know, I think ole Jimmy Van Gilder has a tractor he's thinking of selling!" I should pause here to say, Mr James "Jimmy" Van Gilber was something of a local hero. A veteran, retired fire fighter, and long time member of the town of Utica, Mr Van Gilder helped many of the town's disadvantaged in ways they could never repay him. When I went to Mr Van Gilder to inquire as to the availability of his tractor, he was in the final stages of terminal cancer, so I did NOT want to trouble him. I asked Mr Van Gilder if had a tractor he wanted to sell, and explained what I needed a tractor for. He wanted only $250 for his 520H. I get $200 in SSI each month, but that was weeks away, so I turned to Facebook to raise the money. I offered myself labor for $10 per hour, to raise money for my community outreach project, which would later become the LOVE THY NEIGHBOR INITIATIVE. Within an hour of posting mt plea, a friend who owned a business asked if he and his wife could come see the tractor. That Friday they came to check out the item in question. Within minutes, he pulled out his wallet and paid for the tractor! With my mouth wide open in disbelief, "Matt" exclaimed, "Manny" we think what you're doing is a good thing, and we want to support it by purchasing, and donating this tractor to your cause!" I set about getting the tractor ready for operations, which lead me to look for service parts on the internet. That's when I found out some of the history of the wonder which is the heart and spirit of what was once, "America, the great". The more I learned, the more intrigued I became! That was July of last year. Today, I have nine Horses, and hope to travel to Minnesota this weekend to pick up number 10. I love, and enjoy the sense of community, and next door neighbor quality which is the Wheel Horse family. From day one I was accepted. I am not a black man with a questionable past in the Wheel Horse community. I am Manny to some, RJ, to a few, and Chaplain Manny to the rest. My questions are answered in full with patience from skilled - knowledgeable WH gurus, to newbies like myself how've learned a few things. I love saving Horses, and giving them a second chance to do what they love doing, working hard and making the shinie, new, poorly manufactured, tractors look bad. I hope one day to be able to share the knowledge I've gained from the Wheel Horse community with the next generation of Wheel Horse lovers, namely my two year old son. Thank you Wheel Horse community for making me a part! Your servant, Chaplain, R. J. "Manny" Higgins Utica, Indiana Police Department
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